One type of chiral auxiliary is based on the trans-2-phenylcyclohexanol motif as introduced by James K. Whitesell and coworkers in 1985. This chiral auxiliary was used in ene reactions of the derived ester of glyoxylic acid.
In the total synthesis of (−)-heptemerone B and (−)-guanacastepene E, attached with trans-2-phenylcyclohexanol, the glyoxylate reacted with 2,4-dimethyl-pent-2-ene, in the presence of tin(IV) chloride, yielding the desired anti adduct as the major product, together with a small amount of its syn isomer with 10:1 diastereomeric ratio.
For even greater conformational control, switching from a phenyl to a trityl group gives trans-2-tritylcyclohexanol (TTC). In 2015, the Brown group published an efficient chiral permanganate-mediated oxidative cyclization with TTC.