β -Acetamido ketones are valuable building blocks for the preparation of β -amino ketones or β -amino alcohols such as the antibiotic nikkomycins [1] and neopolyoxines [2]. α-Acetamido ketones are obtained in the Dakin-West reaction [3] and β -acetamido ketones by the Iqbal route. In the latter, an aromatic aldehyde, an enolizable ketone and acetonitrile are condensed in the presence of acetyl ...

A synthetic approach for the preparation of a new class of highly conjugated unnatural α-amino acids bearing a 5-arylpyrazole side-chain has been developed. Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction of an aspartic acid derived β-keto phosphonate ester with a range of aromatic aldehydes gave β-aryl α,β-unsaturated ketones. Treatment of these with phenyl hydrazine followed by oxidation allowed the regiose...

Due to the steric hindrance of the starting prochiral ketones, the preparation of chiral 1,4-diaryl-1,4-diols through the asymmetric hydrogen transfer reaction has been mainly restricted to the use of metal-based catalysts, oxazaborolidines, or organocatalysts. Herein, we demonstrated the versatility of oxidoreductases, finding overexpressed alcohol dehydrogenase from Ralstonia sp. (E. coli/Ras...

Electrochemical synthesis has been rapidly developing over the past few years. Here, we report a practical and eco-friendly electrocatalytic isomerization of allylic alcohols to their corresponding carbonyl compounds. This reaction can be carried out in undivided cells without addition external chemical oxidants metal catalysts. Moreover, this features broad substrate scope including challengin...