Photoredox-Catalyzed Carbonyl Alkylative Amination with Diazo Compounds: A Three-Component Reaction for the Construction of ?-Amino Acid Derivatives

A photoredox-catalyzed reaction of secondary amines, aldehydes, diazo compounds, and Hantzsch ester is reported, affording biologically active gamma-amino acid derivatives in high yields. This one-pot process tolerates a broad range of functional groups and various drug molecules and biologically active compounds. Remarkably, a gram-scale reaction and diverse transformations of gamma-amino acid derivatives were successfully performed, and the utility of the products is demonstrated in the synthesis of therapeutic agent pregabalin.