The highly diastereoselective 1, 4-addition of lithiated chiral amine 1 to a,@-unsaturated esters, followed by hydrogenolysis of the benzylic-type CN bonds of the 1, 4-adducts, provides an asymmetric ammonia synthon for Michael additions. Under optimized conditions, lithiated 1 adds to a,@-unsaturated tert-butyl esters in dimethoxyethane at-63" C in high yield with very high diastereoselectivity. Small, large, functionalized, and chiral@- ...
