Organocatalytic Enantioselective Decarboxylative Aldol Reaction of Malonic Acid Half Thioesters with Aldehydes

Copycat: A highly enantioselective biomimetic aldol reaction of malonic acid half thioesters with a variety of aldehydes affords optically active ??-hydroxy thioesters by employing the cinchona-derived sulfonamide organocatalyst 1. The synthetic utility of this protocol was demonstrated by performing formal syntheses of the antidepressants (R)-fluoxetine, (R)-tomoxetine, (-)-paroxetine, and (R)-duloxetine