Cyano-borrowing: titanium-catalyzed direct amination of cyanohydrins with amines and enantioselective examples

Chem Commun (Camb). 2020 Jan 14;56(4):651-654. doi: 10.1039/c9cc08576a. Epub 2019 Dec 16.

Abstract

The direct amination of cyanohydrins with amines via a catalytic cyano-borrowing reaction was developed. The transformation features broad substrate scope, excellent functional group compatibility, and very mild and simple operations. Moreover, a titanium catalyst supported by quinine and (S)-BINOL ligands enabled an asymmetric cyano-borrowing reaction with moderate to high enantioselectivity.