Polymer-supported chiral organocatalysts, as well as most other forms of immobilized catalysts, are traditionally prepared by a postmodification approach where modified catalyst precursors are anchored onto prefabricated polymer beads. Herein, we report an alternative and more scalable approach where polymer-supported chiral enamine and iminium organocatalysts are prepared in a bottom-up fashion where methacrylic functional monomers are prepared in an entirely nonchromatographic manner and subsequently copolymerized with suitable comonomers to give cross-linked polymer beads. All syntheses have been conducted on multigram scale for all intermediates and finished polymer products, and the catalysts have proven successful in reactions taking place in solvents spanning a wide range of solvent polarity. While polymer-supported proline and prolineamides generally demonstrated excellent results and recycling robustness in asymmetric aldol reactions of ketones and benzaldehydes, the simplest type of Jørgensen/Hayashi diarylprolinol TMS-ether showed excellent selectivity, but rather sluggish reactivity in the Enders-type asymmetric cascade. The polymer-supported version of the first-generation MacMillan imidazolidinone had a pattern of reactivity very similar to that of the monomeric catalyst, but is too unstable to allow recycling.

Chiral amino acids without functional groups in their side chains (hydrophobic amino acids) systematically form crystals with two molecules in the asymmetric unit. In contrast, racemates of the same compounds form crystals with Z' = 1. The present investigation addresses the origin of this important difference between enantiomeric and racemic crystals. Through a series of ab initio calculations on infinite two-dimensional slabs, derived from crystal structures, as well as calculations on full crystal structures it is shown that it is indeed possible to explain the observed behaviour. Additionally, the (not unexpected) observation that amino acids usually form racemates in the solid phase rather than undergoing racemic separation upon crystallization is rationalized on the basis of energy calculations.

A completely non-chromatographic and highly large-scale adaptable synthesis of acrylic polymer beads containing proline and prolineamides has been developed. Novel monomeric proline (meth)acrylates are prepared from hydroxyproline in only one step. Free-radical copolymerization then gives solid-supported proline organocatalysts directly in as little as two steps overall, without using any prefabricated solid supports, by using either droplet or dispersion polymerization. These affordable acrylic beads have highly favorable and adjustable swelling characteristics and are excellent reusable catalysts for organocatalytic reactions.

In this work we present new, fully synthetic phenylglycine‐derived primary amine organocatalysts useful for the one‐step preparation of optically active warfarin, an important anticoagulant. Both enantiomeric forms of the catalysts are equally available and can be prepared by robust procedures without recourse to chromatographic purification. Together with a co‐catalyst, particularly acetic acid or 2,4‐dinitrophenol, they can furnish warfarin in approximately 80 % ee and represent inexpensive alternatives to other primary amine organocatalysts such as the chiral diamines and Cinchona‐derived primary amines.(© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)

The structure of the title compound, C6H6O3, has been redetermined at low temperature [room-temperature structure: Maartmann-Moe (1965 ▶). Acta Cryst. 19, 155–157]. The mol­ecule is planar with approximate D 3h point symmetry, yet it crystallizes in the chiral ortho­rhom­bic space group P212121 with a three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network containing infinite O—H⋯O—H⋯O—H chains.