N‐(2‐Carboxy­benzoyl)‐l‐leucine methyl ester

The title compound (with the systematic name 2‐{(1S)‐1‐(methoxy­carbonyl)‐3‐methyl­butyl]amino­carbonyl}benzoic acid), C₁₅H₁₉NO₅, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁, with two independent mol­ecules per asymmetric unit. The most notable difference between the two mol­ecules is in the dihedral angles between the planes of the carboxyl group and the benzene ring, which are 3.5 (3) and 25.7 (1)°. This difference may account for the fact that two competing reactions are observed in aqueous solution, namely cyclization to form the imide N‐phthaloyl­leucine and hydrolysis of N‐(2‐carboxy­benzoyl)‐l ‐leucine methyl ester to phthalic acid and leucine.