A mixture of 3.0 g (7.4 mmol) of 3-amino-5-(octadecyloxy)benzamide, 3.6 ml (22 mmol) of benzyl bromoacetate, 4.0 g (18.5 mmol) of 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene and 0.3 g (2.1 mmol) of sodium iodide in 60 ml of acetonitrile and 20 ml of DMF was stirred and heated at reflux under argon for 48 hours. The solvents were removed at reduced pressure and the residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate. The extract was washed with 0.05N HCl, with NaHCO3 solution, dried and concentrated at reduced pressure to a solid. Purification by HPLC using 20% ethyl acetate-toluene gave 2.24 g (43% yield, mp 112°-114°) of N-[(3-carbamoyl)-5-(octadecyloxy)phenyl]-N-[2-oxo-2-(phenylmethoxy)ethyl]glycine phenylmethyl ester.
