Diastereoselective synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted oxindoles from atropisomeric N-aryl oxindole derivatives

Diastereoselective synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted oxindoles has been examined by transformations involving nucleophilic addition, alkylation, and cycloaddition using chiral racemic N-aryl oxindoles bearing C–N axial chirality. The most striking features of this approach are high diastereoselectivities (up to >95:<5) when using ortho-monosubstituted N-aryl oxindoles and easy removal of the p-(benzyloxy)aryl moiety in the axially twisted amides by a mild two-step sequence.