The first examples of macrocyclization using the intramol. SNAr reaction are reported. The method has allowed the efficient prepn. of the elusive 16-membered macrocyclic COD and DOE rings related to vancomycin. The mild conditions used allow the incorporation of very racemization-prone amino acids, such as p-methoxyphenylglycine, into the peptide chain. After serving as an activator, the nitro group ortho to the diaryl ether linkage is converted either into a chlorine or a hydrogen atom, thus achieving the substitution pattern found in the vancomycin family of glycopeptides. When compd. I 20 was submitted to the same macrocyclization conditions, two atropisomers II 21 and III 22 were isolated and characterized. [on SciFinder (R)]