Syntheses of a Flobufen Metabolite and Dapoxetine Based on Enantioselective Allylation of Aromatic Aldehydes

The enantioselective allylation of an aromatic aldehyde to give a chiral homoallylic alcohol was employed as the key step in the syntheses of a flobufen metabolite and dapoxetine. In the former case, the homoallylic alcohol moiety (99 % ee) was converted into a five-membered lactone ring with good preservation of the optical purity, and the target compound, a flobufen metabolite, was obtained in 95 % ee. In the latter case, the homoallylic alcohol moiety (97 % ee) was transformed over several steps into a 3-aminopropanol moiety. During the course of the synthesis, the gradual loss of optical purity was observed, and the target compound, dapoxetine, was obtained in 85 % ee.