A short asymmetric synthesis of 1-substituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids by deprotonation of an unprotected α-aminonitrile and alkylation of the resulting carbanion followed by spontaneous elimination of HCN and asymmetric reduction is described.

Under controlled conditions, 6,7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-1-carbonitrile can be quantitatively deprotonated in the α-position. Its alkylation directly furnishes 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines which can serve as starting materials for the preparation of various alkaloids. Here, the preparation of the benzylisoquinolines (+)-laudanidine, (+)-armepavine, and (+)-laudanosine as well as the tetrahydroprotoberberines (-)-corytenchine and (-)-tetrahydropseudoepiberberine using Noyori's asymmetric transfer hydrogenation are described. The dimeric alkaloids (+)-O-methylthalibrine and (+)-tetramethylmagnolamine were obtained from nonracemic precursors in Ullmann diaryl ether syntheses.

The “exocyclic” 1,3‐benzyl shift observed in iminium salts derived from 1‐benzyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroisoquinolines is related to the “endocyclic” Knabe rearrangement. A crossover experiment, isotopic labelling, the study of initiators and inhibitors as well as DFT calculations of gas‐phase model structures provide evidence for a free‐radical pathway under kinetic entropy control that is not affected by “slow” radical traps.

The crystal structure of the title compound, C21H22N2O2S, shows a network of N—H⋯N and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The tolyl and 1-phenyl rings are almost mutually coplanar [7.89 (9)°], while the 2-phenyl ring makes a dihedral angle of 50.8 (1) ° with the 1-phenyl ring. An intra­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bond stabilizes the mol­ecular conformation.