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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Enzymatic Cascade Reactions for the Synthesis of Chiral Amino Alcohols from L-lysine
Published on: February 16, 2018
Catalytic, enantioselective, vinylogous aldol reactions
Scott E Denmark1, John R Heemstra, Gregory L Beutner
1Roger Adams Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. denmark@scs.uiuc.edu
Abstract:
In 1935, R. C. Fuson formulated the principle of vinylogy to explain how the influence of a functional group may be felt at a distant point in the molecule when this position is connected by conjugated double-bond linkages to the group. In polar reactions, this concept allows the extension of the electrophilic or nucleophilic character of a functional group through the pi system of a carbon-carbon double bond. This vinylogous extension has been applied to the aldol reaction by employing "extended" dienol ethers derived from gamma-enolizable alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Since 1994, several methods for the catalytic, enantioselective, vinylogous aldol reaction have appeared, with which varying degrees of regio- (site), enantio-, and diastereoselectivity can be attained. In this Review, the current scope and limitations of this transformation, as well as its application in natural product synthesis, are discussed.
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In the first step, as depicted in Figure 1, the base deprotonates the β-hydroxy ketone at the hydroxyl group to form an alkoxide ion.

