Chiral bifunctional squaramide catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition of ethyl α-nitroacetate to β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters

Abstract

We have developed an efficient bifunctional squaramide catalyst for the asymmetric Michael addition of ethyl α-nitroacetate to β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters. This organocatalytic asymmetric reaction provides convenient and valuable access to highly functionalized 2-nitro-5-oxo-3-arylhexanedioates in excellent yields with uniformly high levels of enantioselectivity (up to >99% ee) albeit with no diastereoselectivity. The resulting products could be conveniently transformed into 5-nitro-2-oxo-4-arylpentanoic acids without loss of enantiomeric excess via basic hydrolysis and the subsequent decarboxylation. This represents an example of in-direct, but efficient asymmetric conjugate addition of pyruvic acid to nitroolefins.