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Updated: May 25, 2026

Efficient Synthesis of All-Carbon Quaternary Centers via the Conjugate Addition of Functionalized Monoorganozinc Bromides
Published on: May 26, 2019
Asymmetric synthesis of quaternary aryl amino acid derivatives via a three-component aryne coupling reaction
Elizabeth P Jones1, Peter Jones, Andrew J P White
1Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, England.
Abstract:
A method was developed for the synthesis of α-alkyl, α-aryl-bislactim ethers in good to excellent yields and high diastereoselectivities, consisting of a facile one-pot procedure in which the aryl group is introduced by means of a nucleophilic addition to benzyne and the alkyl group by alkylation of a resultant benzylic anion. Hydrolysis of the sterically less hindered adducts gave the corresponding quaternary amino acids with no racemization, whereas hydrolytic ring opening gave the corresponding valine dipeptides from bulkier bislactims.
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