Mizoroki-Heck Cyclizations of Amide Derivatives for the Introduction of Quaternary Centers

We report non-decarbonylative Mizoroki-Heck reactions of amide derivatives. The transformation relies on the use of nickel catalysis and proceeds using sterically hindered tri- and tetrasubstituted olefins to give products containing quaternary centers. The resulting polycyclic or spirocyclic products can be obtained in good yields. Moreover, a diastereoselective variant of this method gives access to an adduct bearing vicinal, highly substituted sp³ stereocenters. These results demonstrate that amide derivatives can be used as building blocks for the assembly of complex scaffolds.