A new synthetic route to (3R, 4S)-3-hydroxy-4-phenylazetidin-2-one, an important precursor for the paclitaxel side chain, has been developed using intramolecular cyclization of N-(p- methoxyphenyl)(2S, 3R)-2-acetoxy-3-bromo-3-phenylpropionamide which can be easily obtained by catalytic asymmetric dihydroxylation of N-(p-methoxyphenyl)-trans-cinnamide, followed by bromoacetylation.
[Brown, Stephen; Jordan, Allan M.; Lawrence, Nicholas J.; Pritchard, Robin G.; McGown, Alan T. Tetrahedron Letters, 1998 , vol. 39, # 21 p. 3559 - 3562]
