Catalytic Enantio- and Diastereoselective Aldol Reactions of Glycine-Derived Silicon Enolate with Aldehydes:  An Efficient Approach to the Asymmetric Synthesis of anti -β-Hydroxy-α-Amino Acid Derivatives

We have developed an efficient method for the asymmetric synthesis of anti-beta-hydroxy-alpha-amino acid derivatives based on highly enantio- and diastereoselective aldol reactions of the silicon enolate derived from N-trifluoroacetylglycinate with aldehydes using a chiral zirconium catalyst. The resulting N-trifluoroacetyl group is easily cleaved under either acidic or basic conditions and can be used directly as a protecting group for further transformations.