Ruthenium-Catalyzed Hydration of Nitriles and Transformation of δ-Ketonitriles to Ene-lactams: Total Synthesis of (-)-Pumiliotoxin C

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)81902-5

Hydration of nitriles with 1-2 equivalents of water can be performed efficiently by using RuH2(PPh3)4 catalyst to give the corresponding amides.Under the similar reaction conditions, δ-ketonitriles can be converted into the corresponding ene-lactams, which are versatile synthetic intermediates.The efficiency of the reaction is demonstrated by the short-step synthesis of (-)-pumiliotoxin C.