A convenient, room-temperature-organic base protocol for preparing chiral 3-(enoyl)-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones

In this study, we developed a new protocol for the preparation of the chiral 3-[(E)-enoyl]-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones under the ultimately simple reaction conditions starting with the corresponding enoyl chlorides and 1.3-oxazolidin-2-ones with Et₃N/LiCl at room temperature. The method generally allows efficient preparation of various derivatives regardless of the steric and electronic nature of the substituents on both the enoyl or the oxazolidinone sites. Excellent yields, combined with the simplicity of the experimental procedures, render the present method immediately useful for preparing the target compounds.