Synthesis of dl-Mevalonolactone

Abstract

The synthesis of dl-mevalonolactone from 4-chloro-3-methyl-1, 3-butanediol [1] or 4-chloro3-hydroxy-3-methylbutyl acetate [2] is described.
By the reaction of [1] or [2] with KCN, the corresponding nitriles were obtained in 77 or 66% yield (Table 1, 3), respectively and upon alkaline hydrolysis of the above products, dlmevalonolactone [14] was obtained in 85 or 76% yield, respectively (Table 2, 4).
Some by-products obtained by these reactions were also identified.