Telescoped Continuous Flow Synthesis of Optically Active γ-Nitrobutyric Acids as Key Intermediates of Baclofen, Phenibut, and Fluorophenibut

Org Lett. 2020 Oct 16;22(20):8122-8126. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.0c03100. Epub 2020 Oct 7.

Abstract

The two-step flow asymmetric synthesis of chiral γ-nitrobutyric acids as key intermediates of the GABA analogues baclofen, phenibut, and fluorophenibut is reported on a multigram scale. The telescoped process comprises an enantioselective Michael-type addition facilitated by a polystyrene-supported heterogeneous organocatalyst under neat conditions followed by in situ-generated performic acid-mediated aldehyde oxidation. Simple access to valuable optically active substances is provided with key advances in terms of productivity and sustainability compared to those of previous batch approaches.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't