Preparation of sugar derived β,β′-dihydroxy α,α-disubstituted α-amino acids

Abstract

A novel strategy for the preparation of β,β′-dihydroxy α,α-disubstituted α-amino acids bearing a sugar moiety has been developed. The procedure is based on two Henry reactions: the first Henry reaction involves a sugar aldehyde and nitroethanol to furnish a sugar derived α-hydroxymethyl α-nitroalkanol while the second Henry reaction is between this nitro sugar and formaldehyde. This sequence provided the expected epimers of sugar derived α,α-dihydroxymethyl α -nitroalkanols, from which the corresponding β,β′-dibenzyloxy α-N-benzyloxycarbonylamino esters were easily obtained. All rights reserved.