Reaction of allylzinc reagents and zinc enolates of ketones with alpha-amidoalkylphenyl sulfones

Alpha-amidoalkylphenyl sulfones behave as N-acylimino equivalents in the reaction with functionalized allylzinc reagents. The addition products obtained using the zinc derivative of ethyl 2-(bromomethyl)acrylate can be readily transformed into alpha-methylene-gamma-lactams using different cyclization procedures. The allylzinc reagent obtained from 3-bromo-1-acetoxy-1-propene directly affords protected 1,2-amino alcohols with a preference for the anti stereoisomer, regardless of the structure of the alpha-amidoalkylphenyl sulfone employed. This procedure can be extended to the use of zinc enolates obtained from alpha-bromo ketones and leads to the synthesis of N-protected beta-amino ketones.