Research Progress on the Synthesis of Chiral Lactams via Transition Metal-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

doi:10.6023/cjoc202606009

Chinese Journal of Organic Chemistry

REVIEW

过渡金属催化不对称氢化合成手性内酰胺的研究进展

刘春萌^a,b, 魏雨晴^b, 袁乾家^b, 毛国梁^a,*, 张万斌^b,*

^a东北石油大学化学化工学院黑龙江省聚烯烃新材料重点实验室大庆 163318;
^b上海交通大学化学化工学院上海市手性药物分子工程重点实验室上海 200240

收稿日期:2026-06-09 修回日期:2026-06-23

Research Progress on the Synthesis of Chiral Lactams via Transition Metal-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

Liu Chunmeng^a,b, Wei Yuqing^b, Yuan Qianjia^b, Mao Guoliang^a,*, Zhang Wanbin^b,*

^aHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Polyolefin New Materials, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing, 163318;
^bShanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240

Received:2026-06-09 Revised:2026-06-23
Contact: * E-mail: maoguoliang@nepu.edu.cn (M. G); wanbin@sjtu.edu.cn (Z. W.)
Supported by:
Project supported by the by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project, Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (24ZR1439600), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2023YFA1506400); Wanbin Zhang is a SANS Scholar.

Chiral lactams are widely found in natural products and pharmaceutical molecules, and also serve as important synthetic intermediates. Therefore, the efficient asymmetric construction of chiral lactams is of significant research value. Transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation features atom economy, high catalytic efficiency, and operational simplicity, making it one of the most industrially promising technologies for the synthesis of chiral compounds. In recent years, catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation systems based on transition metals such as iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, palladium, and nickel have been successively developed, enabling the highly efficient synthesis of chiral lactams. Classified according to the transition metal catalyst type, this review summarizes the characteristics of different catalytic systems, including the substrate scope, the origin of stereoselectivity and the mechanism, and the applications in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and natural products. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects of this field are discussed, with the aim of providing useful guidance for the efficient synthesis of chiral lactams.

Key words: lactams, asymmetric hydrogenation, asymmetric catalysis, transition metal

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Liu Chunmeng, Wei Yuqing, Yuan Qianjia, Mao Guoliang, Zhang Wanbin. Research Progress on the Synthesis of Chiral Lactams via Transition Metal-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation[J]. Chinese Journal of Organic Chemistry, doi: 10.6023/cjoc202606009.

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过渡金属催化不对称氢化合成手性内酰胺的研究进展

Research Progress on the Synthesis of Chiral Lactams via Transition Metal-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

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