Straightforward synthesis of (S)- and (R)-alpha-trifluoromethyl proline from chiral oxazolidines derived from ethyl trifluoropyruvate.

Grégory Chaume, Marie-Céline Van Severen, Sinisa Marinkovic, Thierry Brigaud

Index: Org. Lett. 8 , 6123, (2006)

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Abstract

[Structure: see text] A concise synthesis of both enantiomers of alpha-Tfm-proline and (S)-alpha-Tfm-prolinol from ethyl trifluoropyruvate is reported. The key step is a diastereoselective allylation reaction of ethyl trifluoropyruvate and (R)-phenylglycinol-based oxazolidines or imine. The lactone obtained by cyclization of the resulting hydroxy ester proved to be a valuable intermediate for the synthesis of (S)-alpha-Tfm-allylglycine and (S)-alpha-Tfm-norvaline in enantiopure form.