m-Chlorobenzaldehyde (3.5 g., 0.025 mole) in ethanol (10 ml.) is added to a solution of levo-4-(o-chlorobenzyl)-4-phenyl-5-oxohexanoic acid (4.89 g., 0.015 mole) and sodium hydroxide (0.8 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, diluted with water (300 ml.), and extracted with ether to remove the excess m-chlorobenzaldehyde. Ether is expelled from the aqueous phase by warming. The solution is cooled in an ice bath, acidified with dilute hydrochloric acid (10 ml.), and the off-white solid that precipitates is filtered and air-dried. Several recrystallizations from n-butyl chloride yields 3.15 g. of material with m.p. 170°-172°C.
