Methods of producing optically active hydroxyesters and methods of producing and purifying optically active five-membered ring lactones.

摘要

This invention relates to methods for producing optically active hydroxyesters and also to methods for producing and purifying optically active five-membered ring lactones. More specifically, the invention provides methods for efficiently, safely, and selectively producing and purifying optically active (R)-hydroxyester (shown by formula 1) and optically active (S)-hydroxyester (shown by formula 2) in high state of purity at ordinary temperature. The invention also relates to application of the inter-convertible optically active (R)-five-membered ring lacton (shown by formula 5). They are intermediates for synthesizing various medicines, agricultural chemicals, and biologically active substances, however especially useful for synthesizing pheromone of a noxious insect, Popillia japonica Newman. <CHEM> <CHEM> (Here,R1 denotes -C IDENTICAL C-R3 or -C=C-R3; R2 and R3 denote straight chain or branched alkyl groups containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms; R4 denotes alkyl groups, aralkyl groups, or haloalkyl groups containing 1 to 12 carbon atoms and the end group of R4 may be carboxyl groups; * denotes asymmetricrbon atoms.)