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Updated: May 25, 2026

Enzymatic Cascade Reactions for the Synthesis of Chiral Amino Alcohols from L-lysine
Published on: February 16, 2018
Allenes in catalytic asymmetric synthesis and natural product syntheses
1State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, 345 Fengling Lu, Shanghai 200032, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Allenes are the simplest class of cumulenes, with two contiguous C=C bonds, and show unique physical and chemical properties. These features make allenes particularly attractive in modern organic chemistry. In this Review, attention is paid to the advances made in catalytic asymmetric synthesis and natural product syntheses based on well-established reactions of allenes, such as propargylation, addition, cycloaddition, cycloisomerization, cyclization, etc., with or without catalysts. Their versatile reactivity, substituent-loading ability, axial to center chirality transfer, and controllable selectivity allow access to target molecules by unique and efficient approaches. The main topics in this Review are presented with selected examples from 2003 to 2011.
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