Synthesis of Dihydroquinolones Using a Bifunctional Thiourea Catalyst

Significance

Lu and co-worker reported an ­intramolecular cyclization of activated anilines onto ester-substituted unsaturated ketones using bifunctional thiourea catalyst 1, leading to bioactive quinolone derivatives. The products were obtained in generally good yields and high enantio­selectivities. The target quinolones were obtained without loss of enantiopurity after removing the N-sulfonyl group.