Bispalladacycle-catalyzed Michael addition of in situ formed azlactones to enones.

The development and further evolution of the first catalytic asymmetric conjugate additions of azlactones as activated amino acid derivatives to enones is described. Whereas the first-generation approach started from isolated azlactones, in the second-generation approach the azlactones could be generated in situ starting from racemic N-benzoylated amino acids. The third evolution stage could make use of racemic unprotected α-amino acids to directly form highly enantioenriched and diastereomerically pure masked quaternary amino acid products bearing an additional tertiary stereocenter. The step-economic transformations were accomplished by cooperative activation by using a robust planar chiral bis-Pd catalyst, a Brønsted acid (HOAc or BzOH; Ac=acetyl, Bz=benzoyl), and a Brønsted base (NaOAc). In particular the second- and third-generation approaches provide a rapid and divergent access to biologically interesting unnatural quaternary amino acid derivatives from inexpensive bulk chemicals. In that way highly enantioenriched acyclic α-amino acids, α-alkyl proline, and α-alkyl pyroglutamic acid derivatives could be prepared in diastereomerically pure form. In addition, a unique way is presented to prepare diastereomerically pure bicyclic dipeptides in just two steps from unprotected tertiary α-amino acids.