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Several naphthalene compounds containing a methyl group in a 1,8-relationship to a metal-complexed phenyl ring bearing various substituents have been synthesized. The through-space shielding effects of the phenyl ring, as a function of substituent and complexing metal species, were monitored by observing the 1 H NMR signal of the methyl group located in the shielding zone of the ring. In all cases, the methyl signal was slightly more downfield in the complexes than in the uncomplexed analogues. A comparison of available crystal structures, however, shows that the phenyl ring is slightly closer to the naphthyl methyl group in the complexes than in their metal-free counterparts. X-ray structures and DFT calculations also reveal a slight elongation in the average length of the carbon-carbon bonds of the phenyl ring upon complexation. The effect of substituents on the signal of the naphthyl methyl group is small but discernible in the uncomplexed derivatives, and consistent with our previous report. A similar trend is absent in the corresponding metal complexes, as exemplified by the chromium series, and the effect of the metal appears to be more dominant than that of the substituents. These observations were found to be in line with NMR shift calculations.

The A-rings of calcitriol (1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3)) and 1α-hydroxy-3-deoxyvitamin D(3) were synthesized using the furan approach. The critical steps in the synthesis of the A-ring of calcitriol involved an asymmetric carbonyl-ene reaction of 3-methylene-2,3-dihydrofuran with 3-(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)propanal, a diastereoselective Friedel-Crafts hydroxyalkylation, an oxidation of the 2,3-disubstituted furan to give a γ-hydroxybutenolide, and a Peterson olefination. The A-ring (Z)-dienol of calcitriol was synthesized in 12 steps from 3-(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)propanal in 17% yield.

[reaction: see text] The Kishner reduction of 2-furylhydrazone gives 2-methylene-2,3-dihydrofuran as the major abnormal reduction product. 2-Methylene-2,3-dihydrofuran is an excellent ene in the carbonyl-ene reaction, reacting with a variety of aldehydes. Most notable was the asymmetric carbonyl-ene reaction of 2-methylene-2,3-dihydrofuran and decanal using Ti(OCH(CH3)2)4/(S)-BINOL to give the corresponding alcohol in 66% yield and 94% ee. The reaction of 2-methylene-2,3-dihydrofuran with 2 equiv of 1,4-benzoquinone unexpectedly gave a monoalkylated 1,4-hydroquinone/1,4-benzoquinone electron donor-acceptor complex.