Starting from Nα-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-tyrosine (O-triflate) benzyl ester, we have prepared enantiomerically pure 4-carboxyphenylalanine and 4-methoxycarbonylphenylalanine derivatives using palladium (0) catalyzed carbonylation reactions. These unnatural amino acids were suitably protected and were used in solid-phase peptide synthesis using the Fmoc/t-butyl approach.