Iodolactonization has been used in the synthesis of many biologically important products such as the tumor growth inhibitors vernolepin and vernomenin, the pancreatic lipase inhibitor vibralactone, and prostaglandins, a lipid found in animals. The following total syntheses all use iodolactonization as a key step in obtaining the desired product.
In 1977, Samuel Danishefsky and coworkers were able to synthesize the tumor growth inhibitors dl-vernolepin and dl-vernomenin via a multistep process in which a lactonization was employed. This synthesis demonstrates the use of iodolactonization to preferentially form a five-membered ring over a four- or six-membered ring, as expected from Baldwin's rules.
In 2006, Zhou and coworkers synthesized another natural product, vibralactone, in which the key step was the formation of a lactone. The stereoselectivity of the iodolactonization sets a critical stereochemical configuration for the target compound.
In 1969, Corey and coworkers synthesized prostaglandin E using an iodolactone intermediate. Again, the stereoselectivity of the iodolactonization plays an integral role in product formation.