Process for making an optically active mixture of an N-acyl-amino acid or ester containing at least two chiral centers

摘要

In the process of hydrocarboxylating an alpha -enamide with CO and H2O or an organic hydroxyl compound to produce an N-acyl- alpha -amino acid or ester, respectively, the improvement comprising using as the alpha -enamide reactant, an alpha -enamide which has a chiral center that is essentially all L or D, thereby producing a reaction mixture containing diastereomeric N-acyl- alpha -amino acids or esters having two chiral centers, said mixture having essentially no enantiomeric pairs.