Aziridination and aza-Wharton Reactions of Levoglucosenone

Efficient conditions have been developed for the diastereoselective aziridination of the biomass pyrolysis product (−)-levoglucosenone, via the reaction of primary aliphatic amines with 3-iodolevoglucosenone. In contrast to the reactions of aliphatic amines, the use of 4-methoxyaniline resulted in an aza-Michael-initiated dimerisation reaction, and 1,3-diphenylurea gave a 2-imidazolidinone. The aziridine products were transformed using the aza-Wharton reaction, affording novel sulfonamide and amine-substituted 6,8-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-3-enes with potential as sp³-rich chiral scaffolds.