The paper highlighted by Synfacts for its important insights, and authored by Miquel A. Pericàs research group, deals with the first enantioselective α-amination of aldehydes catalysed by a supported prolinol TBS ether.

The authors investigate the mechanism of the catalyst deactivation and develop a strategy to prevent it. They optimise the reaction conditions to achieve repeated recycling and reuse of the catalyst.

The catalyst is then used in the continuous-flow-α-amination of aldehydes to yield enantiopure α-hydrazino alcohols with high conversions in very short residence time.