p-Chlorobenzaldehyde (3.5 g., 0.025 mole) in ethanol (10 ml.) is added to a solution of dextro-4-(o-chlorobenzyl)-4-phenyl-5-oxohexanoic acid (4.89 g., 0.015 mole) and sodium hydroxide (0.80 g., 0.02 mole) in water (50 ml.). The resulting mixture is heated on a steam bath for 24 hours. The reaction solution is cooled to room temperature, acidified with dilute hydrochloric acid (10 ml.), and the yellow solid which precipitates is collected and air-dried, yield 7.1 g., m.p. 125°-157°C. Several recrystallizations from n-butyl chloride yields a white solid with m.p. 184.5°-187°C.
