Complementary Syntheses of N,O-Protected-(S)-2-methylserine on a Multikilogram Scale

Two complementary and scalable approaches have been used to manufacture multikilogram quantities of N,O-protected-(S)-2-methylserine. The first approach uses a diastereomeric salt resolution of 2-methylserine methyl ester as the (1S)-(+)-camphorsulfonate salt, and was used to rapidly access 15 kg of (S)-3-tert-butoxycarbonyl-2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-oxazolidine-4-carboxylic acid with > 99% ee. The second approach involves a stereoselective enolate methylation of a chiral cyclic L-serine derivative under cryogenic conditions. The four-step telescoped process, starting from L-serine methyl ester, was used to manufacture 20 kg of (2R,4S)-2-tert-butyl-3-tert-butoxycarbonyl-4-methyl-1,3-oxazolidine-4-carboxylic acid in 52% overall yield and 98% ee. The advantages and disadvantages for scale-up of both approaches are discussed.