Enantio- and Diastereoselective Aldol Reaction of Thioamides

Significance

The authors disclose a copper(I)-catalyzed enantio- and diastereoselective aldol ­reaction of thioamides and aldehydes. Although there has been considerable interest from the synthetic community in the field of direct catalytic asymmetric aldol methodology, to date there have been a limited number of publications utilizing aldol donors in the carboxylic acid oxidation state. The authors demonstrate the synthetic utility of their products by converting the thioamide moiety into an aldehyde, ketone, 1,3-dicarbonyl, amide or a primary amine functionality.