substituted acetate group at N(1) as the chiral unit were prepared by the reaction of α-(hydroxyimino) ketones, α-amino acid methyl esters, and formaldehyde. In an analogous reaction, ethyl 2-(hydroxyimino)-3-oxobutyrate and 1,3,5-trialkylhexahydro-1,3,5-triazines gave 3-oxido-1H-imidazole-4-carboxylates 14, which easily rearranged into the 2-oxo derivatives 15. Selected examples of N-oxides 5 could be transformed