A Valuable Synthetic Route to the Enantiopure Functionalized N‐Substituted Aziridines

Abstract Chiral butyrolacto[3,4‐b]‐2(S)‐6(R)‐l‐N‐alkylaziridines 7 were synthesized in enantiopure form utilizing racemic 5‐methoxy‐3‐bromo‐2(5H)furanone (5) and available amines (6) as key precursors. After highly effective reduction of 7, the functionalized 2(S),3(R)‐dihydroxymethyl‐N‐alkylaziridines (8) were obtained in good yields with ≥98% ee. This is a simple and practical method for the preparation of enantiopure aziridines which are important intermediates in the synthesis of biologic active molecules.