Enantioselective Synthesis of α-Acetal-β'-Amino Ketone Derivatives by Rhodium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

A range of beta-keto-gamma-acetal enamides has been synthesized and transformed into the corresponding enantioenriched alpha-acetal-beta'-amino ketones with enantioinductions of up to 99% by using rhodium/QuinoxP*-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation under mild conditions. This method also proved to be highly chemoselective toward the reduction of the C-C double bond.