Novel use of N-benzoyl-N,O-acetals as N-acylimine equivalents in asymmetric heterocycloaddition: an extended enantioselective pathway to beta-benzamido aldehydes.

For the first time, easily available N-(alpha-methoxyalkyl)amides were successfully used as synthetic equivalents of N-acylimines in an asymmetric heterocycloaddition process. The facial-controlled formation of 6-alkoxydihydrooxazines was thus achieved by SnCl(4)-promoted heterocycloaddition of (R)-O-vinyl pantolactone. By simple acidic hydrolysis of the crude heteroadducts, new beta-aryl- and beta-alkyl-substituted benzamido aldehydes were thus obtained in good overall yields with high enantioselectivities.