Towards the total synthesis of Stawamycin. Synthesis of C11-C21 fragment

The carbocyclic (C11-C21) fragment of Stawamycin has been prepared by a sequence involving 11 steps (10% overall yield) from methyl (R)-(-)-3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionate. Key steps are Pd-catalyzed Stille coupling reaction between a vinyl iodide and a vinylstannane followed by an intramolecular Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction to afford the desired adduct as the major isomer together with three other possible adducts in 78% overall yield.