Catalytic, enantioselective N-acylation of lactams and thiolactams using amidine-based catalysts.

In contrast to alcohols and amines, racemic lactams and thiolactams cannot be resolved directly via enzymatic acylation or classical resolution. Asymmetric N-acylation promoted by amidine-based catalysts, particularly Cl-PIQ 2 and BTM 3, provides a convenient method for the kinetic resolution of these valuable compounds and often achieves excellent levels of enantioselectivity in this process. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the reaction occurs via N-acylation of the lactim tautomer and that cation-π interactions play a key role in the chiral recognition of lactam substrates.