Stereospecific β-Lithiation of Oxazolinyloxiranes: Synthesis of α,β-Epoxy-γ-butyrolactones

Stereospecific β-lithiation of β-aryl-substituted oxazolinyloxiranes is described. The trapping reaction of such reactive intermediates with
carbonyl compounds gave α,β-epoxy-γ-butyrolactones after deblocking of the oxazoline moiety. This methodology has been also extended
to the synthesis of optically active α,β-epoxy-γ-butyrolactones.