Gas chromatographic separation of enantiomers: determination of the optical purity of the chiral auxiliaries ( R)- and ( S)-1-amino-2-methoxymethylpyrrolidine

Abstract

Enantiomers often have different biological activities. Thus, the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, food additives, pheromones, etc. of high enantiomeric purity is of considerable significance and a challenge in synthetic organic chemistry. An elegant and economic solution to this problem is of course asymmetric synthesis. Asymmetric C-C bond formation is of great importance. Enders’ developed a practical asymmetric synthesis using stoichiometric amounts of the chiral auxiliary (s)1-amino-2-methoxymethylpyrrolidine (SAMP). SAMP is obtained routinely on a molar scale in four steps from the commercially available amino acid (S)-proline2.