Highly substituted piperidines were synthesized via the condensation of aromatic aldehydes and aromatic amines with β-ketoesters in the presence of antimony(III) chloride at ambient condition. This reaction has any advantages such as easy work-up, clean procedure, and good yields.

A new strategy for the functionalization of sterically hindered terminal olefins is reported. Alkenes bearing quaternary carbons at the allylic or homoallylic position are readily oxidized to the corresponding aldehydes by palladium/copper/nitrite catalysis. A broad range of functional groups including esters, nitriles, silyl ethers, vinylogous esters, ketones, lactones, and β-ketoesters are to...

The gold-catalyzed intermolecular hydroalkylation of olefins with β-ketoesters represents a conceptually attractive and useful synthetic tool; however, it has been scarcely applied, remaining a challenge for chemists. The aim of the current study was to investigate the addition of these 1,3-diketo-compounds to alkenes under gold catalysis conditions, in order to establish the electronic and ste...

A formal umpolung strategy is presented for the enantioselective installation of an alkenyl group with a terminal double bond at a tertiary center. This one-pot two-step sequence relies on the unique features of the nitro group, which after inverting the polarity of the alkenylating agent toward the desired bond formation, itself serves as a leaving group. The application of this protocol to cy...

The development of (trimethylsilyl)ethyl ester protected enolates is reported. The application of this class of compounds in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation is explored, yielding a variety of α-quaternary six- and seven-membered ketones and lactams. Independent coupling partner synthesis engenders enhanced allyl substrate scope relative to traditional β-ketoester substrates; h...

2-Cyclopenten-1-one-5-carboxylic ester derivatives 14 are synthesized in a four-step-reaction sequence starting from alkynyl aldehydes 9 via 4Z-b-vinyl-a-diazo b-ketoesters intermediate 8. The synthetic method for 8 is described. When the d substituent is an alkyl group, Rh(II)-mediated decomposition of the diazo compounds 8 led to an intramolecular C–H insertion to afford 2-cyclopenten-1-one-5...

Several protein engineering approaches were combined to optimize the selectivity and activity of Vibrio fluvialis aminotransferase (Vfat) for the synthesis of (3S,5R)-ethyl 3-amino-5-methyloctanoate; a key intermediate in the synthesis of imagabalin, an advanced candidate for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Starting from wild-type Vfat, which had extremely low activity catalyzing...