Recent development in asymmetric synthesis of homo-allylic amines catalyzed by small organic molecules

Chiral homo-allylic amines have been recognized in biologically active natural products and synthetic medicinal compounds. The most significant aspect of chiral homo-allylic amines relies on their synthetic versatility as chiral building blocks for the construction of a broad range of multi-functional organic compounds. A measure of the value of chiral homoallylic amines in organic synthesis is the large volume of work that has been devoted to their construction. Of the known asymmetric methods for their synthesis, the most popular method involves the formation of an imine followed by asymmetric allylation of the imine with reactive allylmetal reagents. An alternative approach is the metal-free asymmetric synthesis of chiral homo-allylic amines catalyzed by small organic molecules, which will be discussed in details in this review.