High conversion and selectivity can be obtained for the cross-metathesis of 2-butene with triglycerides and unsaturated fatty acid esters derived from natural oils. This can be achieved with remarkably high productive catalyst turnovers using second-generation ruthenium-based olefin metathesis catalysts.

Microwave irradiation dramatically improves the efficiency of ring closing metathesis (RCM) reactions of resin-attached peptides and the technology is illustrated by the highly selective synthesis of dicarba analogues of alpha-conotoxin IMI.

Renewable natural oils can be converted into potentially high value terminal oxygenates by a single-pot, high yielding metathesis-isomerisation-methoxycarbonylation-transesterification reaction sequence.