ABSTRACT
Most of the syntheses presented in Chapters 1-4 generated achiral amino acids or chiral, racemic amino acids. A few chiral, nonracemic amino acids were prepared, but the purpose was to illustrate some specic point of a synthesis. Preparation of non-α-amino acids using methods that proceed with high diastereoselectivity or enantioselectivity is very important since any biological activity usually resides in a single diastereomer, if not a single enantiomer (see Chapter 6 for biologically active amino acids). The enantioselective methods presented will include the use of chiral auxiliaries, chiral catalysts, or chiral templates (as dened by Hanessian).1
