Readily available cinchona alkaloids have been used as organocatalysts in the highly efficient stereoselective hydroxyalkylation of heteroaromatics such as indoles with 3,3,3-trifluoropyruvate (2, see scheme). High yields and ee values of both enantiomers of the products, depending on the catalyst used, indicate the usefulness of the developed methodology.
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Török et al. (2005) studied this question.