An acid promoted cyclisation of benzylidene-modified tetramic acid and various enamines followed by MnO2 oxidation afforded the corresponding C2-symmetric and unsymmetric lactam-fused pyridines in enantiomerically pure forms.
Organocatalytic tandem reactions of L-phenylalanine-derived tetramic acid with aldehydes allow a one-pot and high-yielding access to a diverse range of novel chiral diols in enantiomerically pure forms. In addition, a new entry of the diols, featuring their unique structures associated with C2- and pseudo C2-symmetric chiral motifs, is reported.