Various optically active 2-hydroxyamide derivatives are produced based on the kinetic resolution of racemic 2-hydroxyamides with a diphenylacetyl component and (R)-benzotetramisole ((R)-BTM), a chiral acyl-transfer catalyst, via asymmetric esterification and acylation. It was revealed that a tertiary amide can be used with this novel protocol to achieve high selectivity (22 examples; s-value reaching over 250). The resulting chiral compounds could be transformed into other useful structures while maintaining their chirality.
Keywords: 2-hydroxyamide; Weinreb amide; carboxylic anhydride; esterification; kinetic resolution; organocatalysis.