A general method has been developed for the preparation of acetylenedicarboxylic acid esters and applied to the synthesis of both achiral and chiral esters. Diels-Alder reactions of one of the chiral esters, the bis (methyl (S)-lactyl) ester, with various types of dienes, such as phenylbutadiene, orthoquinodimethanes, and isobenzofuran, have been investigated. Moderate asymmetric induction was observed in reactions with dienes bearing an α- ...
