Expedient Approach to 6‐Bromo‐2‐isopropylidenecoumaranone,a Potential Intermediate for the Synthesis of TMC‐120B,Pseudodeflectusin, and Their Congeners

A straightforward approach toward 6‐bromo‐2‐isopropylidenecoumaranone, a potential intermediate toward alkaloid TMC 120‐B, pseudodeflectusin, and other natural products, was reported. The synthetic sequence involved the reaction of 3‐bromosalicylaldehyde with chloroacetone and cyclization of the resulting ether to a 2‐acetylcoumaranol intermediate. This was followed by sequential methyl Grignard addition and Jones’ oxidation to the corresponding coumaranone, which was dehydrated to the final product with the methanesulfonyl chloride/pyridine reagent. The protection of the coumaranol as the corresponding THP‐ether resulted in improved product yields.