Synthesis 2007(7): 959-980  
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-965968
REVIEW
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Asymmetric Sulfa-Michael Additions

Dieter Enders*, Karsten Lüttgen, Arun A. Narine
Institut für Organische Chemie, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Fax: +49(241)8092127; e-Mail: enders@rwth-aachen.de;
Further Information

Publication History

Received 19 January 2007
Publication Date:
28 February 2007 (online)

Abstract

Numerous asymmetric methods have been developed over the past 30 years to effect the Michael reaction of sulfur donors and Michael acceptors. Many of these stoichiometric and catalytic methods are complementary to one another, each having a certain range of substrate tolerance. Organocatalysis has a place at the origin of this field in the discovery of cinchona alkaloid catalyzed sulfa­-Michael reactions. At the same time, it is involved in the current state-of-the-art as several elegant tandem processes that employ secondary amine catalysts and involve initial sulfa-Michael additions have been developed.

  • 1 Introduction

  • 2 Stoichiometric Reactions

  • 2.1 Chiral Michael Acceptors

  • 2.2 Chiral Sulfur Donors

  • 2.3 Tandem Sulfa-Michael/Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley Reduction Reactions

  • 2.4 Formal Sulfa-Michael Additions by Intramolecular Sulfur Transfer

  • 3 Chiral-Metal-Complex-Catalyzed Reactions

  • 4 Organocatalyzed Reactions

  • 4.1 Cinchona Alkaloid Catalysts

  • 4.2 Tertiary Amino Alcohol Catalysts

  • 4.3 Secondary Amine Catalysts

  • 4.4 Urea-Based Catalysts

  • 5 Polymer-Catalyzed Reactions

  • 6 Miscellaneous Methods

  • 7 Conclusions and Outlook

29

Enders, D.; Doszczak, L. RWTH Aachen, 2003, unpublished results.