Benzaldehyde → 2-Hydroxy-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-phenylethanone

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Reaction Steps

Compounds of the invention having the formula ##STR26## can be prepared as follows. Benzaldehyde and 4-methoxybenzaldehyde are reacted to yield 4-methoxybenzoin, which is converted to the hemisuccinate by reaction with succinic anhydride. The latter is reacted with urea and acetic acid to yield the intermediate 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-phenyl-2-oxazole-propionic acid. ##STR27## The latter intermediate is demethylated with hydrogen bromide and esterified with methanol to yield the corresponding hydroxy methyl ester intermediate, which is then reacted with an appropriate haloalkyl-A compound, where A is as defined hereinbefore and hal is halo, to yield the desired final product as the methyl ester. ##STR28## The ester can be hydrolyzed by conventional methods to yield the desired final product in its free carboxylic acid form.

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