Researchers from the Lanzhou University and Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have developed an Au-catalyzed new type of tandem reaction involving enynyl ester isomerization and subsequent intramolecular [3+2] cyclization.

This methodology has broad applications, providing the corresponding cyclized products in good yields and with excellent stereoselectivities. The Au(I)-catalyzed cycloisomerization of nitrogen-containing enynyl esters strategy provides an efficient approach for the synthesis of polyfunctional piperidines and pyrrolidines. Further studies that take advantage of this tandem protocol to address complex synthetic issues are ongoing.

The work has received support from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Program 111.

The detailed report of the work has been published in Org. Lett. (Org. Lett., Vol. 13, No. 24, 2011).

Org. Lett.Paper