A mixture of 24.0 parts of α-methyl-4-(phenylmethyl)-2-piperazinemethanol, 27.3 parts of 2-chloro-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)acetamide, 25.4 parts of sodium carbonate, 0.1 parts of potassium iodide and 180 parts of N,N-dimethylformamide was stirred for 18 hours at 60° C. The reaction mixture was poured onto water and the product was extracted with dichloromethane. The extract was washed with water, dried, filtered and evaporated. The residue was purified by column-chromatography over silica gel using a mixture of trichloromethane and methanol (90:10 by volume) as eluent. The pure fractions were collected and the eluent was evaporated. The residue was crystallized from 1,1'-oxybisethane, yielding 35.19 parts (84.8%) of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-2-(1-hydroxyethyl)-4-(phenylmethyl)-1-piperazineacetamide; mp. 148.8° C. (compound 113).
