Hydrogen Bromide → (2R)-2-bromo-4-methylpentanoic acid

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

D-leucine (23.3 g, 177.3 mmol, 1.0 eq) was dissolved into 3.0M HBr in water (280 mL, 840 mmol) and cooled to 0° C. A solution of NaNO2 (19.6 g, 284 mmol) in water (31.9 mL, 1.8 mol) was slowly added over 20 minutes and the mixture was stirred at 0° C. for 3 hours. The mixture was extracted with ethyl ether (2×500 mL), washed with water (100 mL) and saturated aqueous NaCl, dried over MgSO4, filtered, and concentrated, to yield (R)-2-bromo-4-methylpentanoic acid as an off-yellow yellow oil (33.4 g).

Provenance & Evidence