Patent ID: 7288674

Claim:
A process for producing an optically active cyclopropane compound represented by the formula (7): wherein R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , and R 9 are the same or different, and independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group optionally substituted with a halogen atom, an alkenyl group optionally substituted with a halogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or aralkyl group; provided that, when R 6 and R 8 are the same, R 6 and R 7 are different from each other; and R 10 represents a C 1-6 alkyl group, which comprises reacting a prochiral olefin represented by the formula (5): wherein R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , and R 9 are as described above, with a diazoacetic acid ester represented by the formula (6): N 2 CHCO 2 R 10 (6) wherein R 10 is as defined above: in the presence of the asymmetric copper complex, which is (I) an asymmetric copper complex produced from a copper compound and the optically active bisoxazoline compound represented by the formula (1): wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same, and each represents a C 1-6 alkyl group; R 3 represents a 1-naphthyl group or a 2-naphthyl group; R 4 and R 5 are the same and each represents a hydrogen atom or a C 1-3 alkyl group, or R 4 and R 5 are bonded each other together with the carbon atom to which they are bonded to form a cycloalkyl ring having 3 to 6 carbon atoms; and * represents an asymmetric center, or (II) an asymmetric copper complex produced from a copper compound and the optically active bisoxazoline compound represented by the formula (1): wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same, and each represents a C 1-6 alkyl group; R 3 represents a 1-naphthyl group or a 2-naphthyl group; R 4 and R 5 are the same and each represents a hydrogen atom or a C 1-3 alkyl group, or R 4 and R 5 are bonded each other together with the carbon atom to which they are bonded to form a cycloalkyl ring having 3 to 6 carbon atoms; and * represents an asymmetric center, wherein the configurations of two asymmetric carbon atoms represented by * are both (S), or (R).