The asymmetric addition of trimethylsilylcyanide to aldehydes catalysed by anionic chiral nucleophiles. Part 1

Trimethylsilylcyanide has been added to a number of aldehydes using a highly active chiral catalyst. This procedure gives the TMS ethers of the corresponding cyanohydrins in excellent chemical yields with enantiomeric excesses of up to 59%. The reaction is believed to occur through hypervalent silicon intermediates.