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3-Pyridinecarboxylic anhydride (3-PCA) was found to function as an efficient coupling reagent for the kinetic resolution of racemic secondary benzylic alcohols with achiral carboxylic acids in the presence of a catalytic amount of (+)-BTM. A variety of optically active carboxylic esters are produced with high enantiomeric excesses by this new chiral induction system without using a tertiary amine.

The stereoselective total syntheses of botcinins A (1) and B (2), and homobotcinin E (4), a homologue of botcinin E (3), have been achieved starting from a polyoxygenated tetrahydropyran intermediate 15 via formation of botcinic acid (12) and botcineric acid (13). Through the total syntheses, three actual relationships are revealed, that is, (i) the structure of botcinin A (1) is identical with the revised structure of the natural compound, which was formerly assumed to be 3-O-acetyl-2-epibotcinolide (5), (ii) the structure of botcinin B (2) is identical with the revised structure of the natural compound, which was supposed to be 3-O-acetyl-2-epihomobotcinolide (6), and (iii) the structure of the natural compound formerly assumed to be 2-epihomobotcinolide (8) must be revised to that of homobotcinin E (4).

A variety of optically active benzylic alcohols possessing aliphatic substituents at the C-1 position are produced by the kinetic resolution of racemic secondary alcohols using free carboxylic acids with 2,2-disubstituted propionic anhydrides and (+)-benzotetramisole (BTM). Evaluation of the efficiency of this asymmetric esterification using several anhydrides derived from aliphatic carboxylic acids were carried out by comparing the efficiencies of the kinetic resolution of (±)-l-phenyl-1-propanol. It was found that not only pivalic anhydride is a very widely usable reagent to produce the corresponding esters with high ee's in the presence of BTM, but other 2,2-disubstituted propionic anhydrides, such as 2-methyl-2-phenylpropionic anhydride (MPPRA) and 2,2-diphenylpropionic anhydride (DPPRA), are also applicable as effective coupling reagents for producing the optically active esters and alcohols with high selectivities. This protocol directly provides chiral carboxylic esters from free carboxylic acids and racemic secondary alcohols by utilizing the transacylation process to generate mixed anhydrides from the acid components and sterically hindered carboxylic anhydrides.

Various carboxylic esters are obtained at room temperature in excellent yields with high chemoselectivities from nearly equimolar amounts of carboxylic acids and alcohols using 2,6-dimethyl-4-nitrobenzoic anhydride with triethylamine by the promotion of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine. The efficiency of the esterification is compared to those of other dehydrations using substituted benzoic anhydrides as coupling reagents. This method was successfully applied to the synthesis of threo-aleuritic acid lactone and the desired 17-membered ring compound was prepared in high yield at room temperature from the corresponding free trihydroxycarboxylic acid using 2,6-dimethyl-4-nitrobenzoic anhydride in the presence of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine.

The α-hydroxy-α-methyl-β-hydroxy units are enantioselectively prepared by way of asymmetric aldol reactions between both achiral β,β- disubstituted silyl enolates and aldehydes. (-)-2-C-Methyl-D-threono-1,4-lactone is conveniently synthesized by using this reaction