Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Trifluoromethylated gamma-Amino Acids through the Umpolung Addition of Trifluoromethyl Imines to Carboxylic Acid Derivatives

Novel cinchona alkaloid derived chiral phase-transfer catalysts enabled the highly chemo-, regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective umpolung addition of trifluoromethyl imines to ,-unsaturated N-acyl pyrroles. With a catalyst loading ranging from 0.2 to 5.0 mol%, this new catalytic asymmetric transformation provides facile and high-yielding access to highly enantiomerically enriched chiral trifluoromethylated gamma-amino acids and gamma-lactams.