Iodine(III)-Catalyzed Cascade Reactions Enabling a Direct Access to β-Lactams and α-Hydroxy-β-amino Acids.

In the presented method, a one-pot metal-free access to β-lactams is provided. The developed strategy employs a hypervalent iodine(III)-triggered bromination/rearrangement/cyclization cascade reaction that allows the straightforward synthesis of a broad range of structurally different lactams from cheap and easily available imides. This triple cascade reaction is furthermore extendable by an in situ ring-opening reaction, giving direct access to isoserine derivatives from simple imines in a four-step, one-pot reaction.