Acetic Anhydride → N-(2-oxooxolan-3-yl)acetamide

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

L-Homoserine (2 mol) was suspended in 900 ml of acetic anhydride and admixed with a spatula tip full of dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP). It was slowly heated to 60° C. After approximately 1 hour, the temperature rapidly increased to 100° C. Subsequently the reaction mixture was stirred at 80° C. for 90 minutes and concentrated to dryness under vacuum. The resultant yellow oil was taken up in isopropanol (600 ml) and allowed to stand overnight at 0° C. The resultant crystals were filtered off, washed with cold isopropanol and dried under vacuum. The yield was 60% N-acetyl-2-amino-4-butyrolactone isolated, the purity 99% (according to HPLC).

Provenance & Evidence