Abstract This work describes L-phenylalanine cyclohexylamide (5c) as a simple, cheap, and powerful chiral auxiliary for the synthesis of a series of optically pure α, α-disubstituted (R)- and (S)-amino acids of type 1, such as (R)-and (S)-2-methyl-phenylalanine (1a),(R)-and (S)- 2-methyl-2-phenylglycine (1b), and (R)-and (S)-2-methylvaline (1c; Scheme 3). These amino acids were efficiently transformed into the suitably protected and activated amino acid ...