Iron-photocatalyzed decarboxylative allylation of aspartic and glutamic acid derivatives.

Synthetic strategies for the selective chemical modification of natural amino acids and peptides are constantly in great demand in current state-of-the-art therapeutics. Herein, we present an iron-photocatalyzed decarboxylative coupling of aspartic and glutamic acid derivatives with Morita-Baylis-Hillman esters for the synthesis of allyl-modified unnatural amino acids and oligopeptides. Utilizing aspartic and glutamic acid derivatives as alkyl radical precursors, this strategy features a wide substrate scope, mild conditions, operational simplicity, and no requirement for substrate preactivation.