A Three Step Synthesis of 11-Cycloheptylundecanoic Acid, a Component of the Thermoacidophile Alicyclobacillus cycloheptanicus

A simple synthesis of the methyl ester of 11-cycloheptylundecanoic acid (1), isolated from the lipid fraction of the thermoacidofile, Alicyclobacillus cycloheptanicus has been developed. This involved regioselective Grignard coupling between cycloheptylmagnesium bromide and methyl 11-bromoundecanoate (2), prepared from 10- undecanoic acid.