Stereoselective Synthesis of Less Accessible α-Tertiary Amino Ketimines via Electrophilic Amination of α-Branched N- tert-Butanesulfinyl Ketimines

Org Lett. 2023 May 26;25(20):3670-3675. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c01056. Epub 2023 May 12.

Abstract

A stereocontrolled electrophilic amination of α-branched N-tert-butanesulfinyl ketimines was developed to construct α-aminoketone derivatives containing less accessible α-tetrasubstituted stereocenters. Stereospecific α-deprotonation of ketimines with potassium tert-butoxide gave stereodefined metalloenamine intermediates that could act as nucleophiles to attack azodicarboxylic derivatives, affording α-aminated products in high yields with excellent stereoselectivities.