A new chemo-enzymatic route to both isomers of 2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyric acid is reported. The key step is the lactonase-catalyzed hydrolysis of cis- and trans-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-4-butyrolactones followed by hydrogenation over Pd/C to afford optically pure 2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyric acid.
Facile synthesis of (S)-β-hydroxy-β-trichloromethylated aromatic ketones by the regioselective ring cleavage of chiral β-trichloromethyl-β-propiolactone under the Friedel-Crafts conditions
The reaction of enantiomerically pure β-trichloromethyl-β-propiolactone (1) as a chiral building block with an aromatic compound in the presence of Lewis acid provided an acylated product with a chiral trichloromethyl carbinol moiety. The acylated product was used as an effective chiral synthon for natural product synthesis such as enalapril of ACE inhibitor.