Hydrochloric Acid → Sodium 2-oxo-3-phenylbutanoate

A 1N aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide (20 ml, 20 mmoles) and 40 ml of methanol were added to 1.64 g (10.0 mmoles) of phenylpyruvic acid to form a solution. Then, 2.0 ml of methyl iodide was added, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 10 hours. The reaction mixture was acidified with 1N hydrochloric acid, and extracted with 150 ml of ether. The ether layer was dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure to give a pale yellowish white solid. To the solid was added 3 ml of a 3N aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide, and the mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure. Ether was added to the resulting semi-solid mixture, and the precipitated sodium 2-oxo-3-phenylbutanoate was isolated as a white solid (1.62 g; yield 81 %) by filtration.