Bicyclic beta-Hydroxytetrahydrofurans as precursors of medium ring keto-lactones.

The reaction of a series of cis-fused bicyclic beta-hydroxytetrahydrofurans with ruthenium tetraoxide, generated in situ from ruthenium trichloride and sodium periodate, afforded 9- and 10-membered keto-lactones in moderate to good yields, in a clean and straightforward fashion. The starting beta-hydroxyethers were obtained from the corresponding 3-alkenols by two alternative procedures, depending on their pattern of substitution: (a) epoxidation by dimethyldioxirane, followed by base-catalyzed cyclization of the resulting epoxyalcohol, and (b) thallium trinitrate-mediated cyclization of the 3-alkenols, a method already described by our group.