α-Amination of keto-nitrones via multihetero-Cope rearrangement employing an imidoyl chloride reagent.

α-Aminations of ketone-derived nitrones have been developed via [3,3]-rearrangement of the intermediates generated upon condensation with imidoyl chlorides. Careful reagent selection provides synthetically attractive amino protecting groups. The enediamide or α'-carbamoyl enamide products can be hydrolyzed to the desired carbonyl, or exposed to electrophiles for further α-functionalization.