Synthesis of chiral 5-substituted 2-pyrrolidinones: An unusual one-step transformation

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/0040-4039(93)88053-L

An efficient methodology for the enantioselective synthesis of γ-lactams, using a one-pot reaction of chiral N-alkoxycarbonyl γ-amino α,β-unsaturated carboxylates with magnesium in methanol, afforded the target chiral compounds in high chemical yield (87-95%) and optical purity (96-99% ee).