Acifran (CAS NO.: ), with other name of 2-Methyl-2-phenyl-3(2H)-furanone-5-carboxylic acid, could be produced through the following synthetic routes.

The reaction routes are as below:

This compound can be obtained by two related ways: 1) The hydrolysis of 3-hydroxy-3-phenyl-1-butyne (I) with aqueous H₂SO₄ catalyzed by mercuric sulfate gives 3-hydroxy-3-phenyl-2-butanone (II), which is cyclized and decarboxylated by reaction with diethyl oxalate (III) and NaH in hot THF. 2) When the reaction of (II) with (III) is carried out under milder conditions 6-methyl-6-phenyltetrahydropyran-2,3,5-trione (IV) is obtained. This compound is then treated with aqueous NaOH at pH 11.