Anija Mol T Philip, Shoeb R Khan, Mayur V Khedkar and Shibin Chacko
Published in Vol.16, 2026
KEYWORDS: Proline, α-Aminoxylation, Natural Products, Wittig Reaction, Asymmetric synthesis, α-oxygenation
ABSTRACT:
Proline is an essential amino acid and has been widely used in organocatalysis for various reactions, such as aldol, Mannich, Michael addition, Robinson annulation, Diels-Alder, α-functionalization, α-amination, and α-aminoxylation. The hydroxyl group is found in various natural products and medicinally important compounds, and there are many methods available for introducing hydroxyl groups onto carbon chains, but none has received as much attention as the proline-catalyzed α-oxygenation of carbonyl compounds. Proline-catalyzed reactions are performed under mild conditions with excellent enantioselectivity and yields, and the stereochemistry of hydroxyl groups can be switched by changing L-Proline to D-Proline. In this review, we discuss how D/L-proline catalyzes the α-aminoxylation reaction that synthesizes various natural products and biologically important molecules.