Enantioselective Hydroacylation Applied to the Synthesis of Nucleoside Analogues

Significance

A short and enantioselective synthesis of carbocyclic nucleosides is reported. The authors opted for a strategy involving an intra­molecular rhodium(I)-catalyzed asymmetric hydro-acylation step, which circumvents long reaction sequences previously reported to access carbo­cyclic intermediates 5 or 7. Both enantiomers of 6 are of interest for their potential antitumor and antiviral activity. Their synthesis is a powerful illustration of enantioselective hydroacylation.