Enantioselective construction of the 8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane scaffold: application in the synthesis of tropane alkaloids

Abstract

The 8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane scaffold is the central core of the family of tropane alkaloids, which display a wide array of interesting biological activities. As a consequence, research directed towards the preparation of this basic structure in a stereoselective manner has attracted attention from many research groups worldwide across the years. Despite this, most of the approaches rely on the enantioselective construction of an acyclic starting material that contains all the required stereochemical information to allow the stereocontrolled formation of the bicyclic scaffold. As an alternative, there are a number of important methodologies reported in which the stereochemical control is achieved directly in the same transformation that generates the 8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane architecture or in a desymmetrization process starting from achiral tropinone derivatives. This review compiles the most relevant achievements in these areas.