A palladium-catalyzed carbo-oxygenation: the bielschowskysin case

An asymmetric synthesis of an advanced tetracyclic intermediate toward the synthesis of bielschowskysin (1) is described. A biomimetic [2 + 2]-photocyclization was used to establish the cyclobutane core of bielschowskysin. Macrocyclization under Heck conditions led to an unprecedented carbo-oxygenation of a 1,1-disubstituted double bond.