Enaminones via ruthenium-catalyzed coupling of thioamides and α-diazocarbonyl compounds.

Enaminones can be prepared via the Rh2(OAc)4-catalyzed coupling of α-diazocarbonyl compounds with thioamides. However, rhodium is the most expensive and least abundant among the dominant precious metals used for catalysis. Furthermore, a very limited substrate scope is known for the intermolecular rhodium catalyzed coupling reaction.

Synthesis of 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D5 using a modified two wavelength photolysis for vitamin D formation.

[reaction: see text] 1Alpha-hydroxyvitamin D5 (1) is a promising chemopreventive agent for breast cancer and is being developed as a drug. We report a synthesis for this vitamin D analogue which uses a photochemical method for the B-ring opening, leading to the conjugated triene system. The precursor 7-dehydrositosteryl acetate (4) obtained through a one-pot, five-step procedure, was completely free of the 4,6-diene isomer that usually forms in the 5,7-diene synthesis.