title: In situ catalyst improvement in the proline-mediated alpha-amination of aldehydes.
abstract: Kinetic investigations show that the proline-mediated alpha-amination of aldehydes exhibits autoinductive rate behavior and amplification of product enantiomeric excess. Further experiments highlight the role of product, offering suggestions for the design of catalysts of improved efficiency for such transformations. The unusual characteristics exhibited by these reactions implicate amino acid catalysis in rationalizations of the origin of biological homochirality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwamura
authors.forename: Suju P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Mathew
authors.forename: Donna G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Blackmond
mesh_terms: D000447:Aldehydes / Q000737:chemistry*; D000586:Amination; D002384:Catalysis; D007700:Kinetics; D011392:Proline / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000447:Aldehydes; D011392:Proline