A mixture of 0.5 g (0.75 mmol) of 3-(decyloxy)-5-[[6-[2,3-bis (phenylmethoxy)phenyl]hexyl]oxy]benzoic acid, 0.25 g (2.25 mmol) of chloromethyl acetate, 0.23 g (1.5 mmol) of sodium iodide and 0.31 ml (2.25 mmol) of triethylamine in 15 ml of acetone and 5 ml of DMF was stirred at reflux under argon for 19 hours. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure, NaHCO3 solution was added to the residue and the product was extracted with ethyl acetate. The dried extract was concentrated to an oil which was purified by HPLC using 10% ethyl acetate-hexane to give 0.13 g of 3-(decyloxy)-5-[[6-[2,3-bis(phenylmethoxy)phenyl]hexyl]oxy]benzoic acid (acetyloxy)methyl ester as an oil. A mixture of 0.13 g of 3-(decyloxy)-5-[[6-[2,3-bis (phenylmethoxy)phenyl]hexyl]oxy]benzoic acid (acetyloxy)methyl ester and 0.1 g of 10% palladium on carbon in 15 ml of ethyl acetate was stirred under a hydrogen atmosphere for 3.5 hours when uptake ceased. The usual workup gave 0.07 g of 3-(decyloxy)-5-[[6-(2,3-dihydroxyphenyl)hexyl]oxy]benzoic acid (acetyloxy) methyl ester as an oil. The structure was confirmed by the nmr and mass spectra.
