Abstract A very simple, safe and powerful method for the hydroxymethylation of 2- bromoesters and lactones under anhydrous conditions that avoids the use of gaseous formaldehyde is described. Moreover, under these conditions, bromonitroalkanes were converted into the corresponding α-monohydroxymethylated nitroalkanes, which are precursors of the corresponding α-amino acids. Considering the easy transformation of ...
