The addition of lithium diethylphosphonate to enantiopure ketosulfinimines is highly diastereoselective (>95%), affording the first examples of quaternary alpha-alkyl alpha-amino (arylmethyl)phosphonates.

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2H-Azirine 2-carboxylate esters (5), the smallest unsaturated nitrogen heterocycle, are readily prepared in enantiomerically pure form via the base-induced elimination of sulfenic acid (RSOH) from nonracemic N-sulfinylaziridine 2-carboxylate esters (4). Optimum yields were obtained when the aziridine was treated with TMSCl at -95 degrees C followed by LDA, which was attributed to the improved leaving group ability of an silicon-oxonium species. By using this new methodology the first asymmetric syntheses of the marine cytotoxic antibiotics (R)-(-)- and (S)-(+)-dysidazirine (2) were accomplished.

[formula: see text] 2-Methylaziridine-2-phosphonates were prepared from enantiopure sulfinimines and were demonstrated to be versatile synthetic intermediates for the synthesis of novel alpha-disubstituted and alpha,beta-trisubstituted alpha-aminophosphonate derivatives. The first asymmetric synthesis of both enantiomers of alpha-methylphosphophenylalanine is described.

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