An investigation into the cyclization of acyl radicals with mono- and disubstituted β-alkoxyacrylates is described. Ether-tethered acyl radicals, generated directly from the corresponding aldehyde, undergo cyclization to form dioxaspiro heterocyclic systems including 1,7-dioxaspiro[4,4]nonane-4,8-dione and 1,8-dioxaspiro[5,4]decane-5,9-dione. This strategy is applied to a concise formal synthesis of the fungal metabolite longianone. Density functional theory calculations provide insight into the chemistry of the acyl radicals in this study.
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