US Patent 7314844 Process for the cyanation aldehydes

A process for cyanating an aldehyde is provided. The process comprises reacting the aldehyde with:i) a cyanide source which does not comprise a Si—CN bond or a C—(C═O)—CN moiety; andii) a substrate susceptible to nucleophilic attack not comprising a halogen leaving group;in the presence of a chiral catalyst. Preferably, the chiral catalyst is a chiral vanadium or titanium catalyst. The cyanide source is preferably an alkali metal cyanide and the substrate susceptible to nucleophilic attack not comprising a halogen leaving group is a carboxylic anhydride.