Discovery of the tungsten carbonyl-catalyzed endo-selective alkynyl alcohol cycloisomerization reaction: applications to stereoselective syntheses of d-olivose, d-olivose disaccharide substructures of landomycin and mithramycin

An account of the discovery of the tungsten carbonyl-catalyzed endo-selective cycloisomerization of alkynyl alcohols to dihydropyrans is described. The utility of this new chemical transformation involving tungsten vinylidene catalytic intermediates is demonstrated in stereoselective syntheses of disaccharide substructures 26–28 of the landomycin and mithramycin families of anticancer antibiotics.