Acetic-formic anhydride → Ethyl N-formyl-3-nitriloalaninate

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Reaction Steps

Ethyl 3-nitriloalaninate (26.9 g, 210 mmol) is dissolved in anhydrous ether (200 mL), and cooled in an ice/water bath. Acetic formic anhydride (prepared as a mixture as described above) is added dropwise. When the addition is finished, the reaction mixture is allowed to warm to RT and stirred at RT overnight. Most volatiles are removed in vacuo, and the residue solvents are removed by co-evaporation with toluene (100 mL×4). The red oil obtained precipitates upon scratching in ether, and the resulting solids are recrystallized in ether to give the title compound as a white solid. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) 8.32 (1H, s), 7.26 (1H, s), 6.46 (1H, bs), 5.56 (1H, d, J 7.8), 4.39 (2H, q), 1.37 (3H, t).

Provenance & Evidence