Optimized Synthesis of l-m-Tyrosine Suitable for Chemical Scale-Up

This paper demonstrates how l-m-tyrosine 1 can be synthesized on larger-scale via enzyme-catalyzed kinetic resolution of N-acyl m-tyrosine methyl ester 4. N-Acyl m-tyrosine methyl ester 4 was prepared by a modification of Erlenmeyer’s azalactone synthesis followed by hydrogenation of the resultant dehydroamino acid 12. The optimized four-step synthesis utilizes cheap and readily available starting materials and circumvents difficult purification protocols.