Preparation of 2-aryl- and 2-alkenyl-substituted carbapenems under mild suzuki cross-coupling conditions

An extraordinarily mild procedure for the synthesis of 2-aryl- and 2-alkenyl-substituted carbapenems via palladium-catalyzed coupling of a vinyl triflate with aryl or vinyl boronic acids is described. A major advantage of this procedure is the use of nontoxic boronic acid intermediates in place of highly toxic organostannane compounds which are used in the corresponding Stille cross-coupling reactions.