Asymmetric synthesis catalyzed by oligo((S)‐alanine)

In the asymmetric addition of 1‐dodecanethiol to isopropenyl methyl ketone catalyzed by the terminal primary amino group of oligo((S)‐alanine) (1c), the trimer and the tetramer in β‐conformation gave much higher optical yield than the monomer and the dimer in random conformation. A similar result was obtained in the catalysis by β‐alanyl‐poly((S)‐alanine) (3).