Chiral N-Acyl-tert-butanesulfinamides: The "Safety-Catch" Principle Applied to Diastereoselective Enolate Alkylations

Diastereoselective enolate alkylation reactions of N-acylsulfinamides and conversion of the alkylation products to a variety of enantiopure products are reported. Several sulfinamides were prepared in solution followed by acylation to provide N-acylsulfinamides. The N-acylsulfinamides were then evaluated in diastereoselective enolate alkylation reactions. Of the sulfinamides evaluated, tert-butanesulfinamide provided the highest diastereoselectivity. To establish the potential utility of sulfinamides as versatile auxiliaries, methods were developed for (1) the racemization-free acylation of tert-butanesulfinamide to prepare optically pure N-acyl-tert-butanesulfinamides, (2) the diastereoselective C-alkylation of N-acyl-tert-butanesulfinamides, (3) the conversion of the N-acyl-tert-butanesulfinamides to the active ester equivalent by N-alkylation and S-oxidation, and (4) the cleavage of the N-alkyl-N-acyl-tert-butanesulfonamides to give chiral alcohol, ester, amide, and carboxylic acid target compounds. These studies provide the groundwork for the development of sulfinamides as dual chiral auxiliaries and linkers for the multistep solid-phase synthesis of enantioenriched compounds.