Catalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Spirooxindoles by Oxidative Rearrangement of Indoles

Oxidative rearrangement of indoles to access oxindoles has been used as a key step in complex molecule synthesis. We report a catalytic enantioselective variant of this transformation by chiral phosphoric acid catalysis, providing rapid access to a range of enantioenriched spirooxindoles. The high enantioselectivity is controlled by dynamic kinetic resolution.