Organocatalytic enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of dienes with α-(N,N-diacylamino)acroleins

Catalytic and highly enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of cyclic and acyclic dienes with alpha-phthalimidoacroleins provides cyclic alpha-quaternary alpha-amino acid precursors. The conformationally flexible chiral ammonium salt of H-L-Phe-L-Leu-N(CH2CH2)(2)-reduced triamine with pentafluorobenzensulfonic acid is very effective as an asymmetric catalyst for the Diels-Alder reaction.