Highly enantioselective organocatalytic conjugate addition of nitromethane to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes: Three-step synthesis of optically active baclofen

Abstract

An efficient, organocatalytic, highly enantioselective, conjugate addition reaction of nitromethane with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes has been developed. The process serves as the key step for a practical 3-step synthesis of chiral baclofen, an antispastic drug. © 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.