Metathetic Synthesis of Common and Medium-Sized Lactones: The State of the Art

This review describes the use of intramolecular olefin metathesis pro- cedures for the synthesis of five- to eleven-membered lactones, with emphasis on the literature from the last five years. The application of diene ring-closing metathesis to the synthesis of natural lactones is discussed, including highlights of the reaction coupled to new synthetic tools.