Ruthenium-Catalyzed Intramolecular Hydrocarbamoylation of Allylic Formamides: Convenient Access to Chiral Pyrrolidones

An attractive strategy for the synthesis of saturated nitrogen-containing heterocycles is described herein, involving the implementation of ruthenium-catalyzed intramolecular hydrocarbamoylation of olefins. The process proceeds by formal C-H bond cleavage of an allylic formamide followed by construction of a new C-C bond in a reaction that is characterized by complete atom-economy. The method is particularly valuable in conjunction with the numerous efficient strategies available for the preparation of optically active allylic formamides.