Upon irradiation at wavelengths above 390 nm in the presence of 2,3-dimethylbut-2-ene, both the newly synthesized pyranoquinolinedione 8 and thiinobenzopyrandione 9 selectively afford one of two possible photocycloadducts, 23 and 24, respectively.Introduction. ± Crosslinking of thymine units within helical DNA strands can be achieved, for instance, by light-induced reactions of psoralens (2H-furo[3,2-g]benzopyran-2-ones), such as 1, via two consecutive [2 2] photocycloadditions, the first one occuring at the furan double bond [1]. In contrast, photocycloadditions in solution of both linear (1) [2] and angular tricycles (2 and 3) [3] to alkenes selectively occur at the double bond of the six-membered heterocycle. This difference in selectivity has been attributed to the observation that the photocycloaddition to a nucleic acid is preceded by intercalation of a psoralen, the smaller furan moiety fitting into the helix [1] (Scheme 1).