The lithium enolate of tropinone reacts with alkyl chloroformates to give 6-N-carboalkoxy-N-methyl-2-cycloheptenones (4). These compounds can be produced enantioselectively, in up to 95% ee, if chiral lithium amides (derived from optically pure amines 5–7) are used for deprotonation of tropinone in the presence of additives. The effect of additives such as LiCl, LiBr, LiF, LiClO4, CeCl3, ZnCl2, LiOH, TMEDA, HMPA, and DMPU on enantioselectivity of this deprotonation–ring opening sequence varies from slight to very large depending on the chiral amide – additive combination. Especially large increases in enantioselectivity are observed when the chiral, C2 symmetrical, lithium bis-α,α′-methylbenzylamide (Li-5a) is used with one equivalent of LiCl. This reagent is best generated in situ from the corresponding amine hydrochloride and n-BuLi (2 equiv.). The ring-opening reaction combined with transposition of the carbonyl group (via Wharton reaction or allylic oxidation) provides a new method of stereoselective synthesis of tropane alkaloids having a protected hydroxyl at C-6 or C-7 (6β- and 7β-acetoxytropanes 14a, b) and physoperuvine (19). Keywords: enantioselective deprotonation, tropane alkaloids.
