Synthese D'α-hydroxy acides optiquement actifs

The reaction of chiral MAIR₃OR^* (M = Li, Na, K ; R = Me, Et ; OR^* from R^*OH = (?)N-methylephedrine) with C₆H₅COCO₂ (?)-menthyl provide a good synthesis of α-alkyl mandelic acids with enantiomeric excess (e.e.) up to 53%. Asymmetric induction due to both the chiral centers of the (?)-menthyl group and the OR^* group may be invoked to account for the higher stereoselectivity observed in the reaction.