Grignard reactions to chiral oxazolidine aldehydes

Modest to high levels of asymmetric induction are observed with Grignard additions to Garner type aldehydes. The resultant secondary alcohols are important precursors of chiral building blocks for asymmetric synthesis and we have demonstrated that they can be readily converted into their respective γ-hydroxy-β-amino alcohols and β-hydroxyamino acids. Additionally, aryloxy ethers, important components of many natural products, can be obtained from these precursors.