Highly Enantioselective Thiolysis of Prochiral Cyclic Anhydrides Catalyzed by Amino Alcohol Bifunctional Organocatalysts and Its Application to the Synthesis of Pregabalin

Asymmetric thiolysis of prochiral cyclic anhydrides was achieved with our developed chiral sulfonamide and squaramide bifunctional organocatalysts based on amino alcohol scaffolds. The corresponding thioesters were obtained in high yields with excellent enantioselectivities. The usefulness of this methodology was demonstrated in the enantioselective synthesis of pregabalin.