Enantioselective Organocatalytic Biginelli Reaction: Dependence of the Catalyst on Sterics, Hydrogen Bonding, and Reinforced Chirality

From a systematic investigation involving the synthesis of a series of catalysts and screening studies, the organocatalyst 16, which is sterically hindered, contains a strong hydrogen-bonding site, and is endowed with reinforced chirality, is shown to promote the Biginelli cyclocondensation of aromatic as well as aliphatic aldehydes with ethyl acetoacetate and urea in a remarkably high enantioselectivity (ee ca. 94-99%).