Asymmetric intramolecular conjugate addition of chiral enolates via nonequilibrium

Optically active alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids belong to an important class of unnatural amino acids. Since the synthesis of such amino acids involves the creation of a quaternary stereocenter, methods for their synthesis have been extensively studied. We have reported that N-t-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) -N-methoxymethyl (MOM) -amino acid derivatives undergo asymmetric a-alkylation in up to 93% ee. Original chiral information on an amino acid is preserved in axially chiral enolate intermediates, and thus asymmetric induction is achieved without the aid of external chiral sources (i.e., memory of chirality). Recently, we have reported a new protocol for the asymmetric cyclization of amino acid derivatives, which enables straightforward synthesis of cyclic amino acids with a tetrasubstituted carbon center from the usual a-amino acids in up to 98% ee. Here we report the asymmetric construction of highly substituted chiral nitrogen heterocycles via intramolecular conjugate addition of chiral enolates generated from N-Boc-N-alkylylamino acid derivatives. This method is applicable to the asymmetric construction of pyrrolidine, piperidine, tetrahydroisoquinoline, and indoline derivatives with contiguous quaternary and tertiary stereocenters.