Starting from the enantiomerically pure 2H-azirin-3-amines (R,S)-4 and (S,S)-4, the enantiomeric, optically active 4-benzyl-4-methyl-2-phenyl-1,3-thiazole-5(4H)-thiones (R)-1 and (S)-1, respectively, have been prepared (Schemes 2 and 3). In each case, the reaction of 1 with N-(benzylidene)[(trimethylsilyl)methyl]amine (2) in HMPA in the presence of CsF and trimethylsilyl triflate gave a mixture of four optically active spirocyclic cycloadducts (Scheme 4). Separation by preparative HPLC yielded two pure diastereoisomers, e.g., (4R,5R,9S)-10 and (4R,5R,9R)-10. The regioisomeric compounds 11 were obtained as a mixture of diastereoisomers. The products were formed by a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 1 with in situ generated azomethine ylide 3, which attacks 1 stereoselectively from the sterically less-hindered side, i.e., with (R)-1 the attack occurs from the reside and in the case of (S)-1 from the si-side.1. Introduction. ± Since the first [2 3] cycloadditions, described by Huisgen and coworkers [1 ± 5], azomethine ylides became a well-known class of 1,3-dipoles, and they found many applications in the synthesis of five-membered heterocycles [6 ± 17]. The 1,3-cycloaddition with olefins and acetylenes has frequently been used for the preparation of pyrrolidines and pyrroles with a large range of substitution [3] [7] [18 ± 24], and DeShong et al. described an intramolecular variation for the synthesis of bicyclic pyrrolidines and pyrroles [25]. Azomethine ylides were also used in the synthesis of indolizines [26] and other natural products [12] [27 ± 29], recent examples being those of epibatidine and epiboxidine, which were found to have potential analgesic activity [30] [31]. On the other hand, analogous reactions with thiocarbonyl compounds leading to 1,3-thiazolidines are rarely described [32 ± 37], but recently, Gallagher and co-workers published an elegant synthesis of penam and penem skeletons by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of azomethine ylides with thioketones [38]. Convenient methods to generate nonstabilized azomethine ylides are the desilylation of a-silyliminium salts [11] [12] [39] [40] and a-cyano-a'-silylamines, [32] or the treatment of a-silylated imines with trimethylsilyl triflate [41] (for other methods see [42 ± 50]).For many years, our research interest has been focused on the reactivity of the thiocarbonyl group in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions [51 ± 56]. In the last few years, we reported on the cycloadditions of azomethine ylides with aromatic thioketones [57] [58] and 1,3-thiazole-5(4H)-thiones [59] [60]. Recently, we reported on a stereoselective cycloaddition of an azomethine ylide, generated via thermal ring opening of cis-1-methyl-2,3-diphenylaziridine, with a chiral 1,3-thiazole-5(4H)-thione [61].