Zwitterionic Aza-Claisen Rearrangements Controlled by Pyrrolidine Auxiliaries - Useful Key Steps in Convergent Enantioselective Syntheses

Chiral pyrrolidine substituents served as efficient auxiliaries in diastereoselective zwitterionic ketene aza-Claisen rearrangements. Palladium-catalysed N-allylation starting from optically active proline and prolinol derivatives, as well as from (2S,5S)-2,5-dimethoxymethylpyrrolidine, gave various allylamines bearing trisubstituted olefin moieties. Treatment with complex carboxylic acid fluorides in the presence of trimethylaluminium induced activated ketene addition to the nitrogen and subsequent [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement to give γ,δ-unsaturated amides with excellent simple diastereoselectivities and up to 11:1 auxiliary-induced diastereomeric ratios. Cleavage of the pyrrolidine am…