Both 1 and 3 are inexpensive prochiral starting materials. Tae-Jong Kim of Kyungpook National University devised (Organomet. 2008, 27, 1026) a chiral Cu catalyst that efficiently converted 1 (other ring sizes worked as well) to the enantiomerically pure ester 2. Alexandre Alexakis of the University of Geneva found (Adv. Synth. Cat. 2008, 350, 1090) a chiral Cu catalyst that mediated the enantioselective coupling of 3 with Grignard reagents such as 4 . The π-allyl Pd complex derived from 6 is also prochiral. Barry M. Trost of Stanford University showed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 3759) that with appropriate ligand substitution, coupling with the phthalimide 7 proceeded to give 8, readily convertible to (-)-oseltamivir (Tamiflu) 9, in high ee. Jonathan W. Burton of the University of Oxford found (Chem Commun. 2008, 2559) that Mn(OAc)3 -mediated cyclization of 10 delivered the lactone 12 with high diastereocontrol. John Montgomery of the University of Michigan observed (Organic Lett. 2008, 10, 811) that the Ni-catalyzed cyclization of 12 also proceeded with high diastereocontrol. Ken Tanaka of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology combined (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 1312) Rh-catalyzed ene-yne cyclization of 14 with catalytic ortho C-H functionalization, leading to 16 in high ee. Eric N. Jacobsen of Harvard University designed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 1469) a chiral Cr catalyst for the intramolecular carbonyl ene reaction, that converted 17 to 18 in high ee. Using a stoichiometric prochiral Cr carbene complex 20 and the enantiomerically-pure secondary propargylic ether 19, Willam D. Wulff of Michigan State University prepared (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 2898) a facially-selective Cr-complexed o -quinone methide intermediate, that cyclized to 21 with high ee. A variety of methods have been put forward for the transition metal-mediated construction of polycarbocyclic systems. One of the more powerful is the enantioselective Rh-catalyzed stitching of the simple substrate 22 into the tricycle 23 devised (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 3451) by Takanori Shibata of Waseda University. Inter alia, ozonolysis of 23 delivered the cyclopentane 24 containing two all-carbon quaternary centers.
