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Free keywords:
DIELS-ALDER REACTIONS; BARBIER-TYPE REACTIONS; AQUEOUS-SOLUTION; BENZYL ESTER; IMINES; STEREOSPECIFICITY; CYCLOADDITIONS; DERIVATIVES; ALKALOIDS; DIENE
Abstract:
N-beta-(3-Indolyl)ethyl amino acid esters and differently substituted aromatic aldehydes in the presence of acetic acid form iminium intermediates which at 6 degrees C to 40 degrees C undergo Pictet-Spengler cyclizations to give tetrahydro-beta-carbolines with diastereomer ratios up to 98.5:1.5. The chiral auxiliary group is removed from the heterocycles by employing a retro Strecker reaction as the key transformation.