Organocatalyzed Enantioselective Conjugated Addition of Sodium Bisulfite to ß-Trifluoromethyl-α,ß-unsaturated Ketones.

An efficient organocatalyzed enantioselective conjugated addition of sodium bisulfite to ß-trifluoromethyl-α,ß-unsaturated ketones using a cinchona alkaloid-derived squaramide catalyst is presented. A series of optically active sulfonic acids, bearing a tertiary stereocenter connecting a CF3 group and a SO3H group, were obtained in excellent yields with high enantioselectivities (up to 99% yield and 97% ee) under mild conditions. This method will provide an efficient, economic, and green route to access chiral sulfonic acid compounds.

Organocatalytic asymmetric [3+2] cycloaddition of N-2,2,2-trifluoroethylisatin ketimines with 3-alkenyl-5-arylfuran-2(3H)-ones.

A highly diastereo- and enantioselective [3+2] cycloaddition reaction of N-2,2,2-trifluoroethylisatin ketimines and 3-alkenyl-5-arylfuran-2(3H)-ones was developed with 1 mol% thiourea-tertiary amine as the catalyst. A series of spiro[pyrrolidin-3,2'-oxindoles] bearing four consecutive stereocenters, including two vicinal spiro-quaternary chiral centers, were efficiently obtained with excellent results (up to >99% yield, >20 : 1 dr, and >99% ee).