N-Alkyl-aspartic acids can now be prepared readily by nucleophilic addition of primary amines to the double bond of inonomethyl maleate according to a technique first described by Zilkha and Bachi (1). During the preparation of some N-alkyl-aspartic acids, we found that triethylamine could advantageously replace pyridine as solvent and catalyst. The yields are about 200jo higher and the isolation of a much purer product is possible owing to the absence of colored ...
