The organocatalytic enantioselective desymmetrization reaction by means of an intramolecular (hetero)Michael addition is a useful strategy for the creation of complex carbo‐ and heterocycles with the generation of multiple stereocenters in a very si...
The organocatalytic enantioselective desymmetrization reaction by means of an intramolecular (hetero)Michael addition is a useful strategy for the creation of complex carbo‐ and heterocycles with the generation of multiple stereocenters in a very simple manner. The intramolecular addition of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen nucleophiles to prochiral substrates bearing electronically deficient olefins takes place in the presence of organocatalysts, such as chiral primary and secondary amines, NHCs, ureas, thioureas, and BINOL phosphoric acid derivatives, reaching high levels of diastereo‐ and enantioselectivity. The main bottleneck of this methodology is the design and synthesis of the starting materials, which compromises its application. To date, the majority of examples are related to the use of 1,4‐cyclohexanedione derivatives.
Organocatalytic desymmetrization reactions are powerful methodologies for the generation of molecular complexity and the creation of multiple stereocenters in a single operation. The use of intramolecular (hetero)‐Michael reactions in desymmetrization processes using carbon‐, oxygen‐, and nitrogen‐centered nucleophiles allowed for the creation of polycyclic carbo‐ and heterocycles with excellent levels of diastero‐ and enantiocontrol.