3-METHYL-2(5H)-FURANONE

3-Methyl-2(5H)-furanone is the suitable model compound used to investigate the fragmentation mechanism of five membered lactones by electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry and also to study the airway irritation of isoprene, isoprene/ozone, and isoprene/ozone/nitrogen dioxide mixture.

Journal of the American Chemical Society, 95, p. 6840, 1973 DOI: 10.1021/ja00801a058
The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 57, p. 6972, 1992 DOI: 10.1021/jo00051a055
Tetrahedron Letters, 20, p. 3731, 1979

3-Methyl-2(5H)-furanone, a five membered conjugated lactone, is a volatile compound. Its synthesis has been reported. It is reported to be one of the predominant constituent of the flavor of pandan leaves. It is also found in Thai soy sauce, Arabica roasted coffee samples from Brazil, bio-oil from pine wood sawdust.