Heterocycles through Domino Reactions with Trimethyl Aconitate, a Versatile Synthetic Building Block

The multitalented synthetic reagent trimethyl aconitate ( 1 ) is a renewable raw material with a high density of functional groups that up to now has only been scarcely used as a C 6 building block. Domino reactions with 1 consisting of imine additions and intramolecular acylations provide simple access to heteropolycycles in one‐pot reactions. For example, 1 reacts with N ‐methylbenzylidenamine ( 2 ) to give the spiro[pyrrolidinone‐3,3′‐dihydropyrrolinone] 3 in 40 % yield (see scheme).