Anodic coupling reactions: a sequential cyclization route to the arteannuin ring skeleton.

A pair of intramolecular anodic olefin coupling reactions has been used to construct the arteannuin ring skeleton. Both coupling reactions took advantage of a furan ring as one of the coupling partners. In the first, it was found that an enol ether derived from an aldehyde was not an effective initiating group for the reaction. Instead, the cyclization benefited strongly from the use of a N,O-ketene acetal initiating group. In the second cyclization, an endocyclic enol ether was coupled to the furan ring. This second electrolysis reaction generated the key tetrasubstituted carbon at the center of the arteannuin ring skeleton.