Enantioselective Synthesis of α-Acetal-β'-Amino Ketone Derivatives by Rhodium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation.

A range of β-keto-γ-acetal enamides has been synthesized and transformed into the corresponding enantioenriched α-acetal-β'-amino ketones with enantioinductions of up to 99% by using rhodium/QuinoxP*-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation under mild conditions. This method also proved to be highly chemoselective toward the reduction of the C-C double bond.