Synthesis of new tridentate chiral aminoalcohols by a multicomponent reaction and their evaluation as ligands for catalytic asymmetric Strecker reaction

A one-step, multicomponent Mannich-type reaction between phenols, paraformaldehyde, and β-aminoalcohols in the presence of LiCl afforded N-2-hydroxybenzyloxazolidines with high ortho-selectivity. Hydrolytic or reductive ring opening of the oxazolidines provided a series of N-salicyl-β-aminoalcohols in 84–92% overall yield. The synthesized compounds were evaluated as ligands for a titanium-catalyzed catalytic asymmetric Strecker reaction. The reaction employing 10 mol % of catalyst provided the Strecker products in excellent yields and up to 98% ee.