Sodium borohydride → Benzyl ((2S,3S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxy-1-phenylbutan-2-yl)carbamate

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Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a solution of 0.226 mol of N-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone in a mixture of 807 mL of methanol and 807 mL of tetrahydrofuran at -2° C., is added 1.54 equiv. of solid sodium borohydride over one hundred minutes. The solvents are then removed under reduced pressure at 40° C. and the residue is dissolved in ethyl acetate (approx. 1 L). The solution is washed sequentially with 1M potassium hydrogen sulfate, saturated sodium bicarbonate and is then saturated sodium chloride solutions. After drying over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and filtering, the solution is removed under reduced pressure. To the resulting oil is added hexane (approx. 1 L) and the mixture is warmed to 60° C. with swirling. After cooling to room temperature, the solids are collected and washed with 2 L of hexane. The resulting solid is recrystallized from hot ethyl acetate and hexane to afford 32.3 g (43% yield) of N-benzyloxycarbonyl-3(S)-amino-1-chloro-4-phenyl-2(S)-butanol, mp 150°-151° C. and M+ Li+ =340.

Provenance & Evidence