Synthesis of α-Phenyl β-Enamino γ-Sultims: the New Horizon of the CSIC Reaction

Herein, we report the novel strategy for the synthesis of 4-enamino-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydroisothiazole 1-oxides (in other words α-phenyl β-enamino γ-sultims) based on the CSIC reaction. Particularly, readily available α-amino nitriles (the Strecker products) reacted with benzyl sulfinyl chloride to give the corresponding sulfinamides, which upon treatment with excess of LiHMDS converted into the target α-phenyl β-enamino γ-sultims. The method works well and tolerates strained 3- and 4-membered spirocyclic substituents. A preliminary in silico study indicated that the γ-sultim scaffold can be considered a promising pharmacophore template.