The diastereoselectivity of the nucleophilic epoxidation of γ-hydroxy-α, β-unsaturated esters has been studied. The γ-hydroxy-α, β-unsaturated esters were obtained through treatment of ethyl (E)-4-oxo-2-butenoate with the corresponding Grignard reagent and were used as a racemic mixture. The resulting γ-hydroxy α, β-epoxyesters were treated with thiophenol for transformation into α-phenylsulfanyl trisubstituted γ-butyrolactones. The syn, syn-lactones ...
