Highly enantioselective synthesis of (2R)-α-(hydroxymethyl) glutamate (1), a selective agonist of mGluR2 and 3, was achieved in short steps using an asymmetric version of the Strecker synthesis. This was converted into its α-methoxymethyl-and α-benzyloxymethyl derivatives 2 and 3, possible ligands as tools to investigate glutamate receptors, via protection of the sterically hindered amino group by means of phase transfer catalyst.
