3-[(1S)-2-Methoxy-1-methylethoxy]-5-[4-(methylsulfonyl)phenoxy]benzonitrile (0.1 g, 0.27 mmol) was dissolved in ethanol (1.0 ml) and charged to a 5 ml round bottomed flask equipped with condenser and magnetic stirrer. Water (0.2 ml, 11.1 mmol) was added, followed by sodium hydroxide (18.9M in water, 0.2 ml, 3.78 mmol). The reaction mixture was heated to reflux for 18 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to ambient temperature, and the solvent was evaporated in vacuo. The residue was partitioned between water (10 ml) and MTBE (10 ml) and the layers were separated. The aqueous phase was acidified to pH1 with 2M HCl (2.5 ml, 5 mmol) and MTBE (10 ml) was added to extract the product. The MTBE extract was dried over MgSO4, and then evaporated in vacuo to afford a pale yellow oil (0.1 g, 100% yield).
