Stereocontrolled total synthesis of leukotriene B4

The reduction of D-mannitol and 2-deoxy-D-ribose with (E)-dichloroethylene resulted in the stereocontrolled synthesis of leukotriene B. The process involved palladium-copper catalysts to provide sequential substitution of dichloroethylenes E and Z. The selective reduction, prior to the coupling of the chiral building blocks, also produced other stereoisomers of leukotriene B aside from the desired chiral structures.