C–H amidation of 2-aryl azlactones under iridium(iii) catalysis: access to chiral amino acids

Abstract

In this study, we examine the site-selctive iridium(III)-catalyzed C–H amidation between 2-aryl azlactones and acyl azides. This transformation produces a range of ortho-amidated azlactones, which act as precursors for the synthesis of chiral amino acids via organocatalyzed ring-opening reactions. To test its effectiveness, the method developed is applied to the late-stage C–H amidation of complex drug molecules. The isolation of an iridacycle species supports a proposed reaction pathway.