Recent Developments in the Lithiation Reactions of Oxygen Heterocycles

This survey describes how the chemistry of lithiated oxygen heterocycles has been fruitfully exploited, particularly over the last 10 years, for the preparation of more (stereodefined) functionalized derivatives and products derived from them. Also, how they have contributed to natural product synthesis and molecules of relevant pharmaceutical interest. The genesis of the reactive lithiated intermediates (especially alpha- and ortho-lithiated (hetero)arylepoxides, -oxetanes and -tetrahydrofurans) requires a careful choice of the experimental conditions in terms of solvents and temperature in order them to be successfully intercepted by electrophiles. The study of the aggregation and solvation of certain chiral functionalized lithiated oxygen heterocycles has provided further hints about the factors affecting their configurational stability and their carbanionic/carbene-like character, and the way the latter can be finely tuned to facilitate the desired reactivity for synthetic purposes.