Pyrrolidinyl–camphor derivatives have been proven to be efficient organocatalysts for enantioselective conjugate addition of ketones to alkylidene malonates, affording high chemical yields (up to 95 %) of the corresponding products with high to excellent levels of diastereoselectivity (up to >99:1 dr) and enantioselectivity (up to 96 % ee) under solvent‐free reaction conditions at ambient temperature.

Practical and convenient synthetic routes have been developed for the synthesis of a new class of pyrrolidinyl-camphor derivatives (7 a-h). These novel compounds were screened as catalysts for the direct Michael addition of symmetrical alpha,alpha-disubstituted aldehydes to beta-nitroalkenes. When this asymmetric transformation was catalyzed by organocatalyst 7 f, the desired Michael adducts were obtained in high chemical yields, with high to excellent stereoselectivities (up to 98:2 diastereomeric ratio (d.r.) and 99 % enantiomeric excess (ee)). The scope of the catalytic system was expanded to encompass various aldehydes and ketones as the donor sources. The synthetic application was demonstrated by the synthesis of a tetrasubstituted-cyclohexane derivative from (S)-citronellal, with high stereoselectivity.

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A series of pyrrolidine-camphor-derived organocatalysts (1-4) were designed and synthesised. These organocatalysts were used for direct α-amination of aldehydes with dialkyl azodicarboxylates to give the desired α-aminated products in high chemical yields (up to 92 %) and with high to excellent levels of stereoselectivity (up to Ͼ99 % ee). The reactions proceeded rapidly (within 5 min) with low catalyst loading (5 mol-%) at ambient temperature. Enantioselective aminations of asymmetric α,α-disubstituted aldehydes in the cata-

Tetrasubstituted PyrrolesOn the inside cover, N-protected, fully substituted pyrroles are important heteroaromatic compounds in medicinal chemistry and materials science. An efficient one-pot sequential synthesis of a diverse array of N-protected pyrrole 2,4-dicarboxylic acid derivatives is described by Kwunmin Chen and co-workers in their Full Paper on page 330 ff. The synthetic protocol starts from readily available nitroallylic acetates, amines, and a b-keto ester. The reaction is mediated by ceric ammonium nitrate and proceeds smoothly by an interesting S N 2' process and subsequent aromatization.