Synthesis of enantiopure β-amino amides via a practical reductive amination of the corresponding β-keto amides

A convenient and efficient reductive amination for the preparation of chiral β-amino amides is developed utilizing microwave heating. A variety of chiral β-keto amides react with ammonium acetate and sodium cyanoborohydride to afford the desired functionalized amines in good yields. This improved procedure takes advantage of microwave heating to significantly accelerate the reaction and offers a convenient and effective method to access some interesting molecules containing primary amine functionalities.