We present the synthesis of enantiomerically pure (S)-α-methyl-serine methyl ester hydrochloride from 2-methyl-3-((4-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl)oxy)propanal and di-p-chlorobenzyl azodicarboxylate via asymmetrically catalyzed amination with naphthylalanine derivative catalyst. The application of the organocatalyst of D-3-(1-Naphthyl)-alanine is the key step in the synthesis and ensures the product is obtained with high levels of stereocontrol.
2. l-Serine methyl ester hydro-chloride
Arie Schouten, Martin Lutz Acta Crystallogr Sect E Struct Rep Online. 2009 Nov 7;65(Pt 12):o3026. doi: 10.1107/S1600536809046480.
In the enanti-opure crystal of the title compound, C(4)H(10)NO(3) (+)·Cl(-), inter-molecular O-H⋯Cl and N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into layers parallel to (001).