Diastereoselective addition of organolithiums to 1,3-oxazolidines complexed with aluminum tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) (ATPH)

1,3-Oxazolidines were easily obtained by condensation of N-substituted (R)-phenylglycinol with aldehydes. Addition of organolithium reagents to 1,3-oxazolidines by complexation with the bulky Lewis acid aluminum tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) (ATPH) readily produced the corresponding chiral amines with good yield and high diastereoselectivity. The configuration of the new stereogenic center was shown to be opposite to that of adducts obtained for the same 1,3-oxazolidines using Grignard reagents. The best diastereoselectivity was achieved using N-isopropyl-1,3-oxazolidines. The mechanism of addition was deduced by determining the stereochemistry of the iminium–aluminum complex by NOE experiments.