Chiral bifunctional bisphosphine enabled enantioselective tandem Michael addition of tryptamine-derived oxindoles to ynones

A chiral phosphine-catalyzed tandem Michael addition of tryptamine-derived oxindoles to ynones has been developed, which provides facile access to a series of optically enriched spiro[pyrrolidine-3,3′-oxindole] compounds in good yields with good to excellent enantio- (up to 97% ee) and diastereoselectivities (up to 20 : 1 dr). Mechanistic studies indicate that this tandem reaction proceeds via an intermolecular aza-Michael/intramolecular Michael addition process.