Mechanochemical Strecker Reaction: Access to α-Aminonitriles and Tetrahydroisoquinolines under Ball-Milling Conditions. 
A mechanochemical version of the Strecker reaction for the synthesis of α-aminonitriles was developed.  The milling of aldehydes, amines, and potassium cyanide in the presence of SiO2 gave the corresponding α-aminonitriles in good to high yields.  The high efficiency of the mechanochemical Strecker-type multicomponent reaction allowed the one-pot synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinolines after a subsequent internal N-alkylation reaction.