Kinetic Resolution Driven Diastereo- and Enantioselective Synthesis of cis-β-Heteroaryl Amino Cycloalkanols by Ruthenium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation

The utility of tethered Ru-TsDPEN catalyst has been demonstrated for the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of rac-α-heteroaryl amino cycloalkanones to construct biologically important cis-β-heteroaryl amino cycloalkanols with two contiguous chiral centers via dynamic kinetic resolution. The stated (R,R)-Teth-TsDPEN-Ru-catalyzed transformation is carried out under mild conditions using formic acid/triethylamine as a hydrogen source with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities. Further, this methodology has been applied for the synthesis of an antileishmanial agent and chiral ionic liquid.