Lewis acid-catalyzed formal 1,3-aminomethyl migration.

Here we report a Lewis acid-catalyzed 1,3-aminomethyl migration rection. When δ-amino acid derivatives were treated with a catalytic amount of Sc(OTf), 1,3-migration of the aminomethyl group proceeded smoothly to afford β-amino acid derivatives in moderate to good chemical yields. Detailed investigation suggested that this migration reaction proceeded through the fragmentation/recombination pathway.