Tetrahydropyridines' Stereoselective Formation, How Lockdown Assisted in the Identification of the Features of Its Mechanism.

The multicomponent reaction of aldehydes, cyano-containing C-H acids, esters of 3-oxocarboxylic acid and ammonium acetate led to unexpected results. The boiling of starting materials in methanol for one to two hours resulted in the formation of polysubstituted 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridines with two or three stereogenic centers. During the 2020 lockdown, we obtained key intermediates of this six-step domino reaction.