The hetero Diels-Alder reaction of trifluoromethyl ketones and 1benzyloxy-3-trimethylsilyloxybutadiene is developed as a route to 4hydroxytetrahydropyranyl acetal derivatives. Several 6,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyran-2,4-diols have been prepared, and their anomeric equilibria measured by 'H NMR spectroscopy. Attempted cyclodehydration to 2,6-dioxabicyclo[3.1.1] heptanes (thromboxane A, analogues) failed under various conditions.The study of the potent platelet aggregating factor and vasoconstrictor thromboxane A2 (TxA,; 1) is complicated by its short lifetim-f the order of 30s under physiological conditions.' This is an intrinsic property of the oxetane acetal system,2 and a severe restriction on the design of potential antagonists. As a result, several groups have made analogues with one or both of the acetal oxygen atoms replaced by carbon3 or sulphur.'We are interested in stabilising the oxetane acetal ring system by appropriate substitution. Electron-withdrawing substituents like the OH groups of sugars have a large stabilising effect on tetrahydropyranyl acetals.' This is a result of inductive destabilisation of the developing oxocarbocation always involved in acetal cleavage. In a preliminary study we showed that the trifluoroethyl oxetane acetal(2; R = CH,CF3) is hydrolysed some 5000 times more slowly than the corresponding methoxy derivative (& R = CH3).6This paper describes the synthesis of a serics of tetrahydropyranyl acetals (3) and hemiacetals (3; X = H), with one or two CF3 groups in the corresponding 6 position, designed as precursors to stabilised oxetane acetals (4).Our route to compounds (3) is based on the hetero Diels-Alder reactions of trifluoromethyl ketones with suitable alkoxy and silyloxy dienes. Ishihara and co-workers' have reported that hexafluoroacetone reacts with dienol silyl ethers such as (5),