Discovery of Dipeptide-Derived Catalysts for the Enantioselective Addition of Dimethylzinc to Aldehydes

A new class of modular chiral catalysts derived from various amino acid-L-Pro dipeptides was prepared, and the catalysts were tested for their ability to catalyze the enantioselective addition of dimethylzinc to aromatic aldehydes. Dipeptides derived from L-Asp-L-Pro were identified as effective catalysts for the addition at room temperature with up to 97:3er and 95% yield.