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Updated: May 20, 2026

Efficient Construction of Drug-like Bispirocyclic Scaffolds Via Organocatalytic Cycloadditions of α-Imino γ-Lactones and Alkylidene Pyrazolones
Published on: February 7, 2019
Enantioselective organo-SOMO cycloadditions: a catalytic approach to complex pyrrolidines from olefins and aldehydes
Nathan T Jui1, Jeffrey A O Garber, Fernanda Gadini Finelli
1Merck Center for Catalysis at Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
Abstract:
A new method to rapidly generate pyrrolidines via a SOMO-activated enantioselective (3 + 2) coupling of aldehydes and conjugated olefins has been accomplished. A radical-polar crossover mechanism is proposed wherein olefin addition to a transient enamine radical cation and oxidation of the resulting radical furnish a cationic intermediate which is vulnerable to nucleophilic addition of a tethered amine group. A range of olefins, including styrenes and dienes, are shown to provide stereochemically complex pyrrolidine products with high chemical efficiency and enantiocontrol.
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