The invention relates to a method for preparing a sulphoxide compound of formula (I) either as a single enantiomer or in an enantiomerically enriched form, comprising the steps of: a) contacting a pro-chiral sulphide of formula (II) with a metal chiral complex, a base and an oxidizing agent in an organic solvent; and optionally b) isolating the obtained sulphoxide of formula (I). ##STR00001## wherein n, Y, R.sub.1, R.sub.1a, R.sub.2 and R.sub.2a are as defined in claim 1.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/943,360, filed Sep. 17, 2004, which in turn claims priority of European Application No. EP 03292312.0, filed Sep. 19, 2003 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/507,089, filed Oct. 10, 2003. The disclosures of these priority applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
