[reaction: see text] A highly efficient and rapid four-step synthesis of the bis-spiroketal core of the prunolide natural products, starting from furan itself, is described. The key step and culmination of the synthesis, responsible for zipping up the spirocyclic core, is a singlet oxygen-orchestrated cascade sequence in which a double photooxygenation of a 1,2-difuryl alkene precursor precedes dehydration and spirocyclization to furnish the intact prunolide core.
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