Reactions of Carbenoids and Ketenes from α-Diazocarbonyls and Their Applications in Natural Products Synthesis

There are diverse classes of compounds in the arsenal of synthetic organic chemists, which are of immense use in the synthesis of natural products. The class of α-diazocarbonyls is one of them. The compounds of this class are often used for the generation of reactive intermediates such as carbenoids and ketenes. The reactions of these intermediates have been used in the synthesis of a wide variety of organic compounds including several natural products. This article describes briefly the preparation of α-diazocarbonyls, their reactions through carbenoid and ketenes, and application of these reactions in the synthesis of several complex and biologically important natural products.