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This work discloses transamidation of primary and tertiary amides with a range of aryl, heteroaryl, and aliphatic amines using potassium tert -butoxide. The reaction proceeds at room temperature under transition-metal-free conditions providing secondary amides in high yields. Moreover, reaction of cyclopropyl amine with tertiary amides proceeds with ring-opening to provide a rapid access to enamides.

Beta-azole-containing alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes were successfully reduced under highly enantioselective organocatalytic transfer hydrogenation conditions. The products were obtained in good yields and up to 94% optical purity. This simple process was successfully applied to the synthesis of the C7-C14 fragment of ulapualide A, a natural product which exhibits promising antitumor activity.

[reaction: see text] Alpha-diketones are efficiently reduced with indium metal in methanol-water in the presence of NH(4)Cl, LiCl, or NaCl to give regio- and diastereoselectively the corresponding acyloins in good to excellent yield. The cleavage of the acyloins under Pb(OAc)(4)/MeOH-PhH condition provides a convenient and regioselective access to highly functionalized cyclopentane carboxaldehydes, potential building blocks in organic syntheses.