Stereoselective Alkylation of Chiral 2-Imidoylphenols with Organolithium Reagents: Synthesis of Enantiopure 2-Aminoalkylphenols

In this paper the addition of organolithium reagents to chiral imidoylphenols to prepare enantiopure phenolic Mannich-type bases is described. The experimental data show that this kind of imine is surprisingly reactive toward organolithium reagents, differently from classical imines, and does not need any Lewis acid or base activation. Moreover, interesting results have been obtained with aldimines but more unusually with ketimines. This reaction results in high yields and diastereoselectivities and allows the preparation of aminophenols quaternary at the C-1 carbon atom, which cannot be prepared with the methods available till now. The sense of asymmetric induction has been explained and confirmed in agreement with the results previously obtained by hydride reduction of the same substrates. In some cases this procedure is complementary to the reductive one, allowing the preparation of the diastereomers less abundant in the reduction. The reaction allows the synthesis of one or the other of the two diastereomers, choosing the opportune starting imidoylphenol and the organolithium reagent.