2/21/2012
Synfacts highlights Melchiorre's paper on dioxindole in asymmetric catalytic synthesis
Routes to enantioenriched 3-substituted 3-hydroxyoxindoles
Hydroxyoxindole derivatives are a key structural element of many natural products. Therefore, their stereoselective synthesis have become a challenge for many organic chemists.

In this paper, Paolo Melchiorre and Giulia Bergonzini describe an unprecedented synthetic strategy to access 3-substituted-3-hydroxyoxindole derivatives in excellent yields and enantioselectivities.
Their synthetic pathway focuses on the understanding of dioxindole's nucleophilicity to develop a productive synthetic route.



They use this methodology for the straightforward synthesis of Maremycin A, a marine natural product, and they believe that this previously unexplored reactivity will rapidly find applications in the design of other catalytic asymmetric transformations.

Synfacts selects the most relevant  and up-to-date results in synthetic organic chemistry and they highlighted this Organocatalytic Route to 3-Substituted 3-Hydroxyoxindoles in their latest issue.