Copper(I)-Catalyzed Aryl or Vinyl Addition to Electron-Deficient Alkenes Cascaded by Cationic Cyclization

An exoselective copper-catalyzed arylation and vinylation-carbocyclization of electron-deficient alkenes was developed to provide rapid and efficient access to a variety of functionalized 3,3-disubstituted oxindoles. With this method, a highly efficient and concise formal synthesis of (+/-)-physostigmine and (+/-)-physovenine has been completed.