Asymmetric catalysis for chiral compound synthesis is a rapidly growing field in modern organic chemistry. Asymmetric catalytic processes have been indispensable for the synthesis of enantioselective materials to meet demands from various fields. Michael addition has been used extensively for the construction of C-C bonds under mild conditions. With the discovery and development of organo- and metal-catalyzed asymmetric Michael additions, the synthesis of enantioselective and/or diastereoselective Michael adducts has become possible and increasingly prevalent in the literature. In particular, metal-catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition has been employed as a key reaction in natural product synthesis for the construction of contiguous quaternary stereogenic center(s), which is still a difficult task in organic synthesis. Previously reported applications of metal-catalyzed asymmetric Michael additions in natural product synthesis are presented here and discussed in depth.

Here we report a contractive synthesis of multisubstituted cyclobutanes containing multiple stereocenters from readily accessible pyrrolidines using iodonitrene chemistry. Mediated by a nitrogen extrusion process, the stereospecific synthesis of cyclobutanes involves a radical pathway. Unprecedented unsymmetrical spirocyclobutanes were prepared successfully, and a concise, formal synthesis of the cytotoxic natural product piperarborenine B is reported.

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Natural products have significant biological properties that arise from their fascinating molecular architectures. Despite many advances in synthetic method development, the efficient synthesis of highly-functionalized and structurally intricate natural products...