Asymmetric Monoalkylation of Glycine Ester Schiff Bases

1 Asymmetric Monoalkylation of Glycine Ester Schiff Bases 

Asymmetric Phase Transfer Catalysis. Edited by Keiji Maruoka Copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinheim ISBN 978-3-527-31842-1 

The facile asymmetric synthesis of a-amino acids usually inaccessible by enzymatic processes becomes feasible by employing appropriate electrophiles such as ortho-disubstituted benzyl bromides. In the reaction with simple alkyl halides such as ethyl iodide, the use of aqueous cesium hydroxide (CsOH) as a basic phase at a lower reaction temperature is generally recommended [7e]. 

Although the conformationally rigid, N-spiro structure created by two chiral binaphthyl subunits represents a characteristic feature of 1 and related catalyst 9, Maruoka and coworkers have generally used their (S,S)- and (R,R)-isomers. Surprisingly, however, when the diastereomeric (R,S)-lc was used for asymmetric benzyla-tion of 2, the reaction was found to proceed very slowly, such that even after 60 h the 

The phase-transfer benzylation of 2 with the catalyst (S)-12a having [1-naphthyl group on the 3,3 -position of the flexible biphenyl moiety proceeded smoothly at 0 °C to afford the corresponding alkylation product (R)-3 in 85% yield with 87% ee after 18 h. The origin of the observed chiral efficiency could be ascribed to the considerable difference in catalytic activity between the rapidly equilibrated, diaste-reomerichomo- and heterochiral catalysts namely, homochiral (S,S)-12a is primarily responsible for the efficient asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis to produce 3 with high enantiomeric excess, whereas the heterochiral (R,S)-12a displays low reactivity and stereoselectivity. 

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