Evaluating beta-amino acids as enantioselective organocatalysts of the Hajos-Parrish-Eder-Sauer-Wiechert reaction

A systematic study of the effect of substitution within the beta-amino acid framework indicates that both beta(2)- and beta(3)-amino acids catalyse the Hajos-Parrish-Eder-Sauer-Wiechert reaction with poor to reasonable levels of enantioselectivity. These results led to the evaluation of the conformationally constrained beta-amino acid (1R,2S)-cispentacin, which catalyses the Hajos-Parrish-Eder-Sauer-Wiechert reaction with comparable or higher levels of enantioselectivity to L-proline.