Catalytic Asymmetric Assembly of C3-Monosubstituted Chiral Carbazolones and Concise Formal Synthesis of (−)-Aspidofractinine: Application of Enantioselective Pd-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Protonation of Carbazolones

The first method for the asymmetric synthesis of C3-monosubstituted chiral carbazolones, structural motifs common in medicinal chemistry, has been achieved using Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative protonation of carbazolones. This methodology has been applied to the first catalytic enantioselective formal synthesis of (−)-aspidofractinine with step economy and simplicity