Copper(I)-catalyzed enantioselective incorporation of ketones to cyclic hemiaminals for the synthesis of versatile alkaloid precursors.

A general catalytic enantioselective method that can produce five-, six-, and seven-membered N-heterocycles possessing various ketone moieties starting from stable and easily available cyclic hemiaminals and ketones was developed. The method involves three successive steps in one pot (aldol addition, dehydration, and enantioselective intramolecular aza-Michael reaction), all of which are promoted by a chiral copper(I)-conjugated Brønsted base catalyst. This method is useful for rapid access to versatile chiral building blocks for the synthesis of drug-lead alkaloids.