A Total Synthesis of Bifidenone

The first total synthesis of bifidenone, a novel natural tubulin polymerization inhibitor, has been achieved in 12 steps starting from commercially available 1,4-dioxaspiro[4.5]­decan-8-one. The synthesis includes a newly developed method to generate the dihydro­benzo­dioxolone core by palladium-catalyzed aerobic dehydrogenation. The three stereocenters were installed with an AD-mix-β dihydroxylation step followed by a late-stage palladium-catalyzed decarboxylation–​allylation procedure. The absolute stereochemistry of 3 was determined via 13a by single-crystal X-ray analysis.