No abstract

The cinchona alkaloid-mediated opening of prochiral cyclic anhydrides in the presence of methanol leading to optically active hemiesters is described. Very structurally diverse anhydrides are converted into their corresponding methyl monoesters, and either enantiomer can be obtained with up to 99% ee by using quinine or quinidine as directing additive. After the reaction, the alkaloids can be recovered almost quantitatively and reused without loss of enantioselectivity. Additionally, a catalytic protocol which permits the substoichiometric use of quinidine in the presence of easily accessible pentamethylpiperidine (pempidine) is presented.

No abstract

A mechanochemical version of the Strecker reaction for the synthesis of α-aminonitriles was developed. The milling of aldehydes, amines, and potassium cyanide in the presence of SiO2 gave the corresponding α-aminonitriles in good to high yields. The high efficiency of the mechanochemical Strecker-type multicomponent reaction allowed the one-pot synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinolines after a subsequent internal N-alkylation reaction.

Acid treatment: Exposure of catalytically inactive (neutral) molecules to strong Brønsted acids generates cationic species (e.g. 1 and 2) that catalyze a wide range of synthetically powerful transformations. These reactions give products with excellent ee values. TfO−=trifluoromethanesulfonate; TFA=trifluoroacetic acid.