Use of the Nosyl Group as a Functional Protecting Group in Applications of a Michael/Smiles Tandem Process

Concise preparations of elaborated polycyclic and heterocyclic systems present in natural products were obtained using the nosyl group as a functional protecting group not only to mask the reactivity of a sensitive moiety but also to provide a structure desired in the final target. The group is transferred to the substrate during deprotection through a novel extension of the Truce Smiles rearrangement in tandem with a 1,4-addition. This strategy provides access to a ring system laden with valuable functionalities for subsequent manipulations and can serve as a versatile building block for the construction of more complex molecular architectures such as indoles in a manner compatible with the concepts of green chemistry and atom economy.