Quinidine Thiourea Catalyzed Aldol Reaction of Unactivated Ketones

Significance

A highly efficient aldol reaction of unactivated ketones and activated carbonyl compounds using a quinidine thiourea catalyst 1 is presented. Zhao and co-workers obtained the ­desired products in good yields and high enantio­selectivities. The authors propose an enolate mechanism and they also illustrate the synthetic utility of their reaction process for the preparation of 3-alkyl-3-hydroxyindolin-2-ones, which are lead compounds for the synthesis of bioactive molecules.