2 g of tert-butyl 4-[cis-3-(tert-butyl-diphenylsilanyloxy)cyclohexyl]-2,2-dimethylbutyrate are dissolved in 10 ml of tetrahydrofuran, and 8 ml of a 1 M solution of tetrabutylammonium fluoride and tetrahydrofuran are added. The mixture is stirred at 60° C. for 2 hours. The reaction mixture is concentrated under reduced pressure and purified on silica gel using the mobile phase n-heptane:ethyl acetate=20:1=>1:1. This gives 730 mg of tert-butyl 4-[cis-3-hydroxycyclohexyl)-2,2-dimethylbutyrate as an oil. C16H30O3 (270.42), Rf(n-heptane:ethyl acetate=5:1)=0.22.
