An Acetic Acid-Promoted Strecker Type Reaction of N,N-Disubstituted Aminomalononitriles: An Efficient Way for the Construction of α-Aminonitriles

A Strecker type reaction between aldehydes and readily available N,N-disubstituted aminomalononitriles has been realized for the first time to give an alternative strategy for the synthesis of α-aminonitriles. This reaction features broad substrate scope and the use of water as solvent, and its utility has been supported by the formal synthesis of racemic Clopidogrel and a 3-aminoindole type of compound.