Enantioselective synthesis of polysubstituted prolines by Binap-silver-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions

The enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of stabilized azomethine ylides, generated from iminoesters, with maleimides was efficiently achieved by intermediacy of an equimolar mixture of chiral (R)- or (S)-Binap and AgClO4. The high stability of the titled catalytic metal-complex to light exposure and its insolubility in toluene made possible its recovery and reutilization in other new process. In order to get a better understanding of the behavior of these chiral catalysts, we have carried out DFT1 calculations demonstrating the experimentally observed high enantio- and endo-selectivity through a very asynchronous transition state. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.