Stereoselective, nitro-Mannich/lactamisation cascades for the direct synthesis of heavily decorated 5-nitropiperidin-2-ones and related heterocycles

• Pavol Jakubec,
• Dane M. Cockfield,
• Madeleine Helliwell,
• James Raftery and
• Darren J. Dixon

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 567–578, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.64

• –c to LiAlH4 in THF followed by quenching and treatment with HCOOH, spirocycles 11a–c were obtained in good yields. The chemoselectivity of the reduction was unambiguously confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of 11c. Furthermore, the use of an excess of DIBAL at room temperature

When gold can do what iodine cannot do: A critical comparison

• Sara Hummel and
• Stefan F. Kirsch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 847–859, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.97

• with AuCl3 at 38 °C in CH2Cl2. With alkyl substituents on the alkyne, the same reaction led to low yields of products and decomposition. Significantly, the reaction also proceeds with cyclic carbonyl compounds with seven- and eight-membered rings to give six- and seven-membered spirocycles