Hydrochloric Acid → (2RS,5R)-4-(4-methoxybenzyl)-5-methyl-2-phenylmorpholin-3-one

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

2-Chloro-2-methylacetyl chloride (8.4 g, 40.0 mmol) was added to a solution of (2R)-2-(4-methoxybenzylamino)-propan-1-ol (7.79 g, 39.9 mmol) and triethylamine (4.5 g, 44.5 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (100 ml) and the solution was stirred for one hour. The solution was cooled at 0° C. and 28% sodium methoxide in methanol solution (15.4 g, 79.8 mol) was added. When the reaction was complete (checked by thin layer chromatography), excess reagent was decomposed by the addition of water and pH was adjusted to 5-6 with 3N aqueous hydrochloric acid. The solution was partitioned between water and chloroform. The organic layer was washed with brine, dried over magnesium sulfate, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography (eluent; 30-50% ethyl acetate in hexane) to afford (2RS,5R)-4-(4-methoxybenzyl)-5-methyl-2-phenylmorpholin-3-one (12.2 g, 39.1 mmol, 98%) as colorless oil.

Provenance & Evidence