Tetrahydropyran and dihydropyran rings are structural components of a large number of natural products.1,2) Therefore, considerable attention has recently been directed toward their stereoselective synthesis. [3][4][5][6][7][8] The microtubule-stabilizing agent (Ϫ)-laulimalide, 9-18) also known as fijianolide B, which was isolated from several sponges (Cacospongia mycofijiensis,19) Hyattella sp., 20) Fasciospongia rimosa 21) ), contains 2,6-trans disubstituted 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran as its C5-C9 portion. Stereoselective construction of thermodynamically less stable 2,6-trans substituted pyrans is one of most important subjects in synthesis of this attractive antitumor agent and its analogues.Metal catalyzed carbenoid reactions 22,23) have become a powerful tool for the synthesis of functionalized cyclic compounds including oxacycles. In 1994, Clark and co-workers reported that a copper-catalyzed reaction of 5-allyoxy-1-diazo-2-hexanone predominantly gave 2,6-trans-2-allyl-6-methy-3-dihydropyranone in good yield.24) This result stimulated us to investigate the metal catalyzed stereoselective synthesis of 2,6-trans disubstituted 3-pyranone (2) from adiazoketone (3) as a feasible method for synthesis of the C5-C9 portion of laulimalide and its analogues because 3 would be converted easily into the key intermediate (1) of the Mulzer's laulimalide synthesis, 11,25) as outlined in Chart 1. Herein, we describe the synthesis of 2 in high yield with excellent stereoselectivity by the copper-catalyzed oxonium ylide formation-[2,3] shift of 3 and conversion of 2 into 1 and its derivatives.a-Diazoketone (3) was prepared readily from the known alcohol (4) 11) as shown in Chart 2. Homoallylic alcohol (4) was converted to diol by hydroboration-oxidation process with borane-tetrahydrofuran (THF) complex and subsequent treatment with hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide. Then the resulting primary hydroxyl group was protected as a tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) ether to give the secondary alcohol (5) in high yield. O-Allylation of 5 was troublesome. Under usual allylation conditions, such as reaction with sodium hydride (NaH) and allyl bromide in THF, no reaction occurred. Several examinations revealed that treatment of 5 with NaH and allyl iodide in the presence of 15-crown-5 in THF at room temperature afforded allyl ether (6) in 96% yield. Deprotection of TBDMS group with tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF), followed by two stepoxidation with Dess-Martin periodinane and oxone in dimethylformamide (DMF) 26) gave carboxylic acid (7) in 80% overall yield. Conversion of 7 into a-diazoketone (3) was achieved by the usual procedure, 27) formation of mixed acid anhydride with ethyl chloroformate and treatment with diazomethane, thereby providing 3 in 85% yield in two steps.With a-diazoketone (3) in hand, we turned our attention to cyclization of 3 by the metal catalyzed reaction (Eq. 1).(1)Formation of 2,6-disubstituted 3-pyranone using oxonium ylide formation-[2,3] shift of a-diazoketone has already been examined. Clark and co-worke...