Efficient microwave assisted synthesis of optically active bicyclic 2-pyridinones via delta2-thiazolines.

A new efficient synthesis of optically active bicyclic 2-pyridiones has been developed using microwave irradiation. The synthesis is a two-step procedure via delta2-thiazolines, which only requires a 3 + 2 min reaction time compared to 2 days when using conventional heating. The optimized conditions proved to be suitable for the synthesis of a small library in excellent yields and with limited racemizations.