Synthesis of Lactams by Metathesis Reactions

Abstract

The use of metathesis for the synthesis of lactams has become very important in the last decade. This reaction allows the synthesis of very diverse lactam-containing compounds: from simple building blocks to refined macrolactams or polycyclic systems. The arsenal of metathesis reactions ranges from ring-closing metathesis (RCM) to ring-rearrangement metathesis (RRM) to ring-closing enyne metathesis (RCEYM) or cross metathesis (CM). The strategic deployment of such reactions for the synthesis of lactams will be described in this chapter, with a discussion on factors that govern the metathesis reaction.