The stereomers of hept-6-ene-2,5-diol derivatives were conceived as useful chiral intermediates and were synthesized starting from sulcatol using two lipase-catalyzed acylation reactions as the key steps. The versatility of the intermediates was demonstrated by converting them to the titled tetrahydropyran, macrolide, and macrodiolide compounds using standard synthetic protocols.

A facile asymmetric synthesis of the octadienoic acid unit of cryptophycins was developed starting from (R)-2,3-O-cyclohexylideneglyceraldehyde. The key steps of the synthesis are the stereocontrolled generation of the required asymmetric centers through (i) a gallium-mediated highly diastereoselective crotylation of the glyceraldehyde in [bmim][Br], (ii) a stereoselective allylation with allyltributylstannane, and (iii) an enantioselective Grignard addition to an a-oxygenated aldehyde.