That's interesting you had some success. I just tried on
https://chat.openai.com. It gave me some wacky nonsense! It started with step 1 by protecting acetone as an acetal and then reacting the acetal with a grignard reagent.
Here is the full transcript, where I asked it change acetone to an aminoketone with some new alkyl groups. It seems like a simple thing to give a basic idea (alpha alkylation and do mannich type reaction, I am not sure of every detail)
"Converting acetone to 1-amino-4-methyl-3-pentanone involves several synthetic steps. Here's a proposed synthesis route:
Step 1: Protecting the carbonyl group
To protect the carbonyl group in acetone, we can use a protecting group such as a dioxolane. This can be achieved by reacting acetone with 1,3-propanediol in the presence of an acid catalyst. The reaction forms the corresponding dioxolane derivative of acetone.
Step 2: Conversion of the dioxolane to the corresponding ketone
The protected acetone can be converted to the desired ketone by reacting it with a methyl Grignard reagent. This reaction will replace the dioxolane moiety with a methyl group, yielding the protected form of 1-amino-4-methyl-3-pentanone.
Step 3: Deprotection of the carbonyl group
To remove the protecting group, the protected ketone is subjected to acidic conditions, typically using a strong acid such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid. The acid catalyzes the hydrolysis of the dioxolane, resulting in the restoration of the original ketone functionality.
Step 4: Amination of the ketone
Finally, the ketone can be converted to the desired 1-amino-4-methyl-3-pentanone by introducing the amino group. This can be achieved by reacting the ketone with an amine, such as methylamine, in the presence of a suitable catalyst or reagent. The reaction will form an imine intermediate, which can be reduced using a reducing agent, such as sodium cyanoborohydride or sodium borohydride, to yield the corresponding amine product."