Synthesis of 3-substituted pyrrolidines

A method was developed for the synthesis of derivatives of 3-substituted pyrrolidines from activated alkenes by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of unstable 2-benzylazomethylide, generated in situ from N-benzyl-N-(methoxymethyl)-N-(trimethylsilyl)amine. A method was developed for the reduction of 4-(3-pyrrolidyl)pyridine, prepared by the above-mentioned method, to the corresponding derivatives of (3-pyrrolidyl)piperidine with high yields under mild conditions. Dedicated to E. J. Lukevics on his 70th birthday __________ Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 41–48, January, 2007.