Formation of all-carbon quaternary centers by copper-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition

This mini-review deals with a special, and challenging, aspect of the asymmetric conjugate addition: the formation of all-carbon quaternary centers by reaction with Michael acceptors bearing a polysubstituted unsaturation. Only copper catalysts allow this transformation, along with a careful choice of primary organometallics and chiral ligand. The resulting adducts are useful intermediates for the synthesis of more complex natural products.