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A modular, enantioselective approach to access the bioactive 7,9-dihydroxy- and 9-hydroxy-7-keto-8,4'-oxyneolignans is disclosed, which employs stereoselective Mitsunobu reactions of enantiopure 2-aryl-1,3-dioxan-5-ols and functionalized phenols. The enantiopure dioxanols are prepared through Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation of protected coniferyl or sinapyl alcohols and subsequent benzylidene acetal formation. Through a mix-and-match coupling approach, six of the eight possible erythro -7,9-dihydroxy-8,4'-oxyneolignan enantiomeric natural products (bearing a C-1' hydroxypropyl chain) were generated following sequential deprotection. Subsequent benzylic oxidation afforded the 7-keto-derivatives, resulting in enantioselective syntheses of each enantiomer of the natural products asprenol B and icariol A 1 .

The development of a Lewis acid-catalyzed, intramolecular ring-opening benzannulation of 5-(indolyl)2,3-dihydrofuran acetals is described. The resulting 1-hydroxycarbazole-2-carboxylates are formed in up to 90% yield in 1 h. The dihydrofuran acetals are readily accessed from the reactions of enol ethers and α-diazo-β-indolyl-β-ketoesters. To highlight the method's synthetic utility, a formal total synthesis of murrayafoline A, a bioactive carbazole-containing natural product, was undertaken.