Doubly diastereoselective conjugate additions of the antipodes of lithium N-benzyl-N-(α-methylbenzyl)amide to enantiopure ε-O-protected α,β-unsaturated esters derived from d-ribose

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/j.tetasy.2014.02.004

Enantiopure ε-O-silyloxy- and ε-O-benzyloxy-α,β- unsaturated esters derived from d-ribose, each containing a cis-dioxolane unit, display excellent (≥95:5 dr) levels of diastereofacial directing ability upon conjugate addition of achiral lithium N-benzyl-N-isopropylamide. In contrast to the corresponding enantiopure ε-O-silyloxy-α,β-unsaturated ester derived from l-tartaric acid, which contains a trans-dioxolane unit, the conjugate additions of the antipodes of lithium N-benzyl-N-(α- methylbenzyl)amide to its cis-configured counterpart result in doubly diastereoselective 'matched' and 'mismatched' reaction pairings in which the inherent reagent control serves to augment or oppose, respectively, the established substrate diastereocontrol.