PRODUCTION OF GLYCIDIC ACID

摘要

PURPOSE:To obtain the titled compound useful as a raw material for producing drugs by a simple operation in high yield industrially and advantageously, by reacting a readily obtainable specific compound with a haloacetic ester as raw materials in the presence of an alkali metallic alcoholate catalyst. CONSTITUTION:A compound shown by formula I (one of R<1> and R<2> is H and the other is OH or R<1> and R<2> are bonded to form oxo) such as 3- benzoylacetophenone or m-phenylhydroxymethylacetophenone is subjected to Darzens' condensation with a haloacetic ester such as methyl chloroacetate in an inert atmosphere in the presence of an alkali metallic alcoholate catalyst such as sodium methylate in an aprotic solvent such as toluene and dimethylformamide under an anhydrous condition at 0--40 deg.C to give the aimed compound shown by formula III (R is ester) useful for readily producing 2-(3- benzoylphenyl)-propionic acid shown by formula II suitable as a drug.