Abstract New chiral mono-and bicyclic β-sultams, valuable building blocks for drug synthesis, have been prepared from L-Ala, L-Val, L-Leu, L-Ile, L-Phe, L-Cys, L-Ser, L-Thr, and D-penicillamine by transformation of the COOH group into a methylsulfonyl chloride function, followed by cyclization under basic conditions. Selected properties, derivatives, and reactions of the β-sultams are described.