To a cold (-78° C.), stirred suspension of 3-dodecyl-5-(phenylmethyl)isoxazole and 5-dodecyl-3-(phenylmethyl)isoxazole (1.64 g, 0.00500 mol) in dry tetrahydrofuran (150 mL) was added dropwise over 3 minutes a 2.06M solution (5.0 mL, 0.010 mol) of n-butyl lithium in hexanes, and the mixture was stirred for 80 minutes under nitrogen. The resulting orange solution was poured into freshly crushed dry ice (~300 g), the mixture was covered with parafilm with a small hole to allow CO2 (g) to escape, and allowed to warm to room temperature over 3 hours. The residue was partitioned between ether and 0.1M HCl. The organic layer was washed (saturated NaCl), dried (MgSO4), and rotoevaporated to a yellow oil. The oil was dissolved in petroleum ether (50 mL). A solid crystallized. It was filtered off and dried in vacuo to give a white solid containing the title compound and 5-dodecyl-α-phenyl-3-isoxazole acetic acid; yield 1.70 g (91%); mp 88°-97° C.
