Piers–Rubinsztajn reaction to unlock an 8-step synthesis of 7-hydroxy cannabidiol

Abstract

A scalable synthesis of 7-hydroxy cannabidiol (7-OH CBD), a primary metabolite of (−)-cannabidiol (CBD), is highly desirable, from an industrial point of view, to enable future clinical trials. A Piers–Rubinsztajn reaction was key to enable a mild deprotection and a concise synthesis of 7-OH CBD from commercially available CBD, in 31% overall yield.