Readily accessible 9-epi-amino cinchona alkaloid derivatives promote efficient, highly enantioselective additions of aldehydes and ketones to nitroolefins.

Simple cinchona alkaloid derivatives, available via a one-pot procedure from commercially available starting materials, have been shown to promote highly enantio- and diastereoselective Michael-type addition reactions between enolizable carbonyl compounds and nitroalkenes of broad scope. The influence of both the absolute and relative stereochemistry at C-9 on catalyst performance has also been assessed. [reaction: see text].