Cyclic enaminones. Part I: stereocontrolled synthesis using diastereoselective and catalytic asymmetric methods.

Cyclic enaminones are versatile intermediates to construct a variety of azacyclic frameworks and have been widely used in alkaloid synthesis. Here, we summarize three approaches for stereoselective syntheses of cyclic enaminones and their functionalized derivatives. These include chiral substrates (chirons) as starting materials, syntheses employing non-catalytic (stoichiometric) reagents, and catalytic asymmetric methods.