Stereoselective Amine Synthesis Mediated by a Zirconocene Hydride to Accelerate a Drug Discovery Program
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Chiral amine synthesis remains a significant challenge in accelerating the design cycle of drug discovery programs. A zirconium hydride, due to its high oxophilicity and lower reactivity, gave highly chemo- and stereoselective reductions of sulfinyl ketimines. The development of this zirconocene-mediated reduction helped to accelerate our drug discovery efforts and is applicable to several motifs commonly used in medicinal chemistry. Computational investigation supported a cyclic half-chair transition state to rationalize the high selectivity in benzyl systems.
Pulcinella A, Bonciolini S, Stuhr R, Diprima D, Tran M, Johansson M Nat Commun. 2025; 16(1):948.
PMID: 39843889 PMC: 11754598. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56234-w.