Construction of an asymmetric quaternary carbon via an asymmetric aza-Claisen rearrangement and its application in the total synthesis of (+)-¦Á-cuparenone
Excess lithium hexamethyldisilazide (LHMDS) with LiCl prompted the asymmetric aza-Claisen rearrangement of carboxamide and retarded the decomposition of its amide enolate. The addition of these two reagents was a key step that led to the total synthesis of (+)-¦Á-cuparenone with a stereogenic quaternary center.