The R-ketoacids 1-4 and their deprotonated anions play central roles in a number of biochemical processes. 1-4 Despite the importance of the R-ketoacids, little work has been done to evaluate these compounds in their reactivities toward weak nucleophiles such as aromatic compounds. Recently, there has been a considerable amount of interest in the generation of strong electrophiles from 1, 2-dicarbonyl systems and the ability of these ...
