Methyl iodide → Tert-butyl 3-(2-methoxy-2-oxoethyl)pyrrolidine-1-carboxylate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a suspension of 2-(1-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)pyrrolidin-3-yl)acetic acid (500 mg, 2.18 mmol, Astatec Pharmaceutical Technology Co.) in DMF (10 mL) was added methyl iodide (163 μL, 2.62 mmol, Sigma-Aldrich) and K2CO3 (904 mg, 6.53 mmol). These ingredients were stirred at a temperature of about 25° C. for 1 h after which the reaction mixture was quenched with water (20 mL), extracted three times with EtOAc (20 mL for each extraction), washed twice with water (20 mL for each wash), washed with saturated aqueous NaCl (10 mL), dried (MgSO4), and concentrated under reduced pressure to provide tert-butyl 3-(2-methoxy-2-oxoethyl)pyrrolidine-1-carboxylate as an oil. To a mixture of tert-butyl 3-(2-methoxy-2-oxoethyl)pyrrolidine-1-carboxylate (2.18 mmol) in dioxane (10 mL) at a temperature of about 25° C. was added 4N HCl in dioxane (10.8 mmol). Then the reaction mixture was stirred at 50° C. for 2 h. Thereafter, the mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure to provide 380 mg of the hydrochloride of methyl 2-(pyrrolidin-3-yl)acetate as a colorless oil (yield 96% for two steps), the identity of which was confirmed using 1H NMR and LC/MS.

Provenance & Evidence