Ethyl 2, 4-dioxo-4-phenylbutyrate, obtained by condensation of acetophenone with diethyl oxalate, was converted to 3-oxo-3-phenyl-1-propanol in 90% yield by reaction with baker's yeast. Reductive amination with sodium cyanoborohydride in the presence of ammonium acetate gave the racemic 3-amino-3-phenyl-1-propanol in 65% yield. Enzymatic resolution of the corresponding N-phenylacetyl derivative with penicillin G acylase, immobilized on ...