Abstract The phenylacetyloxymethylene group serves to protect the carboxyl group of benzylpenicillin sulphoxide (2a) during the transformation into 7-ADCA and 7β-amino-3- methoxyceph-3-em-4-carboxylic acid (9), being removed together with the 7-phenylacetyl side chain by means of immobilized penicillin acylase in a single step.