Efficient Synthesis of ß-Aryl-γ-lactams and Their Resolution with (S)-Naproxen: Preparation of (R)- and (S)-Baclofen.

An efficient synthesis of enantiomerically-pure ß-aryl-γ-lactams is described. The principal feature of this synthesis is the practical resolution of ß-aryl-γ-lactams with (S)-Naproxen. The procedure is based on the Michael addition of nitromethane to benzylidenemalonates, which was easily obtained, followed by the reduction of the γ-nitroester in the presence of Raney nickel and the subsequent saponification/decarboxylation reaction. The utility of this methodology was highlighted by the preparation of enantiomerically-pure (R)- and (S)-Baclofen hydrochloride.

Continuous chromatographic separation of a baclofen precursor (N-Boc-4-[p-chloro-phenyl]-2-pyrrolidone) in a simulated moving bed using a polysaccharide carbamate as chiral stationary phase.

Liquid chromatography is known as one of the most flexible, efficient and cost-effective methods to resolve racemic mixture in order to attend the growing demand of the pharmaceutical industry for pure enantiomeric compounds. Cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) is frequently used as a stationary phase for enantiomeric separations because of its attractive properties, including high enantioselectivity, high loading capacity and good mechanical stability. In this study, we investigated the usefulness of cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) as the stationary phase and of ethanol and hexane mixtures as the mobile phases for the chromatographic separation of potential pharmaceutical intermediates. Using adsorption equilibrium data, we determined the optimal operational conditions for the separation of the N-Boc-4-[p-chloro-phenyl]-2-pyrrolidone enantiomers - a baclofen precursor - in a semi-preparative scale simulated moving bed unit. This unit was used to obtain high purity enantiomers on a scale of 1g/day. The outlet streams were analyzed by an on-line system that consisted of a UV-vis spectrophotometric unit, a polarimeter, and HPLC. Enantiomeric purities of up to 97% were obtained for the raffinate stream and up to 90% for the extract stream.