Dearomative [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement of ammonium ylides followed by 1,4-elimination to form α-(ortho-vinylphenyl)amino acid esters

Abstract

A base-induced dearomative [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement of amino acid ester-derived ammonium salts followed by 1,4-elimination produced α-(ortho-vinylphenyl)amino acid esters. The reaction of azetidine-2-carboxylic acid-derived ammonium salt, (1S,2S,1′R)-3b, proceeded with a perfect N-to-C chirality transfer to afford α-(ortho-vinylphenyl)azetidine-2-carboxylic acid ester, (R)-5 (99% ee). On the other hand, the reaction of glycine-derived ammonium salt (R)-6a, which involves an efficient chirality transfer from a chiral benzylic carbon to an α-carbon of an ester carbonyl giving the optically active α-(ortho-vinylphenyl)glycine ester, (R)-8a (85% ee), was demonstrated. Although this dearomative [2,3] rearrangement followed by 1,4-elimination has limitations with regard to the structures of the substrates, our method provides unique access to substituted α-arylamino acid derivatives.