Chiral route to cis-caronaldehyde from D-mannitol

Abstract

A chiral route to cis-caronaldehyde, a key intermediate of cis-pyrethroid insecticides as well as an efficient resolving agent for secondary alcohols, has been developed using D-mannitol as the starting material employing a sequential one-pot sodium periodate cleavage and Horner-Emmons condensation in an aqueous medium as the key stage.