1,3-Dicarbonyl compounds in stereoselective domino and multicomponent reactions

Modern organic synthesis focuses on the discovery and the development of stereoselective multiple bond-forming transformations allowing the creation of several covalent bonds in a single operation. Hence, the number of steps required to obtain a target molecule is reduced, which nicely addresses the efficiency and economy criteria of 'green chemistry'. In this context, 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds are exceptional synthetic platforms due to the presence of four contiguous reaction sites. This functional group density allows cascades of elemental steps from simple substrates leading to the selective formation of elaborated molecular architectures displaying a large functional diversity. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.