Heteroarenesulfonyl Cinchona Alkaloid Amine Catalyst

Nakamura et al. have reported development of the heteroarenesulfonyl cinchona alkaloid amine catalyst, N-[(9S)-8α-cinchonan-9-yl]quinoline-8-sulfonamide (1), and its use for the enantioselective decarboxylative Mannich reaction of ketimines. According to their results, the reaction of ketimines with malonic acid half thioesters in the presence of 1 affords the corresponding β-aminocarbonyl compounds with high enantioselectivity. Since β-aminocarbonyl compounds are important backbones of pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals, they can be converted into biologically active substances, such as optically active AG-041R.