Asymmetric nucleophilic substitution of α-bromo amides via dynamic kinetic resolution for the preparation of dipeptide analogues

Asymmetric nucleophilic substitution reactions of α-bromo α-aryl acetamides derived from l-amino acids are described. The simple and practical syntheses of dipeptide analogues have been developed with dibenzylamine, TBAI and a base to provide and in 50–98% yields with diastereomeric ratios from 74:26 to >99:1. Mechanistic investigations suggest that α-bromo acetamides are configurationally labile under the reaction condition and the primary pathway of the asymmetric induction is a dynamic kinetic resolution. The semiempirical calculations of two epimeric transition states of found that (αS)-epimer is the faster reacting epimer with the formation of an intermolecular hydrogen bond that facilitates delivery of the amine nucleophile.