The Recent Advance of Ramberg-Bäcklund Reaction

The recent progress of Ramberg-Bäcklund reaction is reviewed both on the side of the reaction itself and its application in synthesis of functional organic molecules and natural products. In case of RB reaction itself, recent developments towards Meyer's modification and Hendrickson’s improvement are presented in detail, and then followed by new variants of Ramberg-Bäcklund rearrangements, including the epoxy-Ramberg-Bäcklund reaction, tandem Michael-addition-Ramberg- Bäcklund rearrangement, Diels-Alder-RB reaction. Recent synthetic application of RB reaction to prepare functional organic molecules as medium and large heterocyclic alkenes, optically pure polyoxygenated cycloalkene, chiral allylic and homoallylic compounds, are also discussed. Finally, applications of the Ramberg-Bäcklund process in synthesis of natural products are reviewed.