Synthesis of Chiral Diarylmethylamides via Catalytic Asymmetric Aza-Michael Addition of Amides to ortho-Quinomethanes

J Org Chem. 2024 Jan 19;89(2):928-938. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c01976. Epub 2024 Jan 5.

Abstract

Chiral diarylmethylamides are a privileged skeleton in many bioactive molecules. However, the enantioselective synthesis of such molecules remains a long-standing challenge in organic synthesis. Herein, we report a chiral bifunctional squaramide catalyzed asymmetric aza-Michael addition of amides to in situ generated ortho-quinomethanes, affording enantioenriched diarylmethylamides in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities. This work not only provides a new strategy for the construction of the diarylmethylamides but also represents the practicability of amides as nitrogen-nucleophiles in asymmetric organocatalysis.