Hydrogen bond catalyzed direct reductive amination of ketones.
[reaction: see text] A novel, biomimetic concept for the direct reductive amination of ketones is described that relies on selective imine activation by hydrogen bond formation. The mild, acid- and metal-free process requires only catalytic amounts of thiourea as hydrogen bond donor and utilizes the Hantzsch ester for transfer hydrogenation. The method allows the efficient synthesis of structurally diverse amines.
Gesellschaft für Biotechnologische Forschung mbH, Medzinische Chemie, Mascheroder Weg 1, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany. dme05@gbf.de
Dirk
D
Menche
Jorma
J
Hassfeld
Jun
J
Li
Gerd
G
Menche
Antje
A
Ritter
Sven
S
Rudolph