Synthesis of Unnatural α-Amino Acids via Photoinduced Decatungstate-Catalyzed Giese Reactions of Aldehydes.

Synthesis of unnatural amino acids has long been a focus of chemistry research. Here, we present an efficient, general method that furnishes γ-carbonyl α-amino acids via photoinduced decatungstate-catalyzed Giese reactions of readily available aldehydes as radical precursors. This mild, robust method is compatible with a wide array of functional groups and has a broad substrate scope. We demonstrated the utility of the method by modifying several amino acid bearing drugs and natural products.