Ring-closing metathesis-based synthesis of (3R,4R,5S)-4-acetylamino-5-amino-3-hydroxy- cyclohex-1-ene-carboxylic acid ethyl ester: a functionalized cycloalkene skeleton of GS4104

(3R,4R,5S)-4-Acetylamino-5-amino-3-hydroxy-cyclohex-1-ene-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, a functionalized cyclohexene skeleton of GS4104, was diastereoselectively synthesized. A major advantage of this synthesis is the use of readily available L-serine to replace frequently used (-)-shikimic acid or (-)-quinic acid as the starting material. Ring-closing metathesis and diastereoselective Grignard reactions successfully served as the key steps. Absolute configurations of the key intermediates were confirmed by corresponding two-dimensional NMR studies.