Synthesis of 3',3'-difluoro-2'- hydroxymethyl-4',5'-unsaturated carbocyclic nucleosides.

3',3'-Difluoro-2'-hydroxymethyl-4',5'-unsaturated carbocyclic nucleosides 1-3 have been stereoselectively synthesized from ester 10, which can be conveniently prepared from 2,3-isopropylidene-d-glyceraldehyde 7 in five steps. The whole synthesis highlighted the stereoselective Reformatskii-Claisen rearrangement, ring-closing metathesis (RCM), and palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation, in which the regioselectivity was reversed from that of nonfluorinated substrates.