In connection with work on the synthesis of optically pure a-hydroxy-/I-keto esters of biological interest, we developed a new procedure for highly diastereoselective preparation of 2, 2-disubstituted 5-methyl-1, 3-dioxolan-4-ones. Related dioxolanones have been widely used recently for several applications,'including the 1, 3 chirality transfer principle. 2 Two general methods of formation3 of these chiral building blocks were known at the ...