91166-30-2Relevant academic research and scientific papers
Stereospecificity in the Pictet-Spengler reaction kinetic vs thermodynamic control
Deng, Li,Czerwinski, Kevin,Cook, James M.
, p. 175 - 178 (2007/10/02)
The Pictet-Spengler reaction of Nb-benzyl tryptophan methyl ester 4 with 5 in refluxing benzene yielded a mixture of cis and trans tetrahydro β-carbolines in a ratio of 7a(23)/7b(77), whereas the analogous reaction of isopropyl ester 10 with 5 provided increased trans stereoselectivity [cis(13):trans(87)]. The implications in regard to the role of intermediates 1-3 in this condensation are described. Moreover, Pictet-Spengler reaction of 4 or 10 with aldehydes (Ph, Δ) led to kinetic trapping of the cis/trans diastereomers, whereas reaction in TFA/CH2Cl2(25°C) provided tetrahydro β-carbolines via thermodynamic control and increased trans diastereoselectivity in most cases.
