Practical Preparation of Z-α-(N-Acetylamino)- and Z-α-(N-Benzoylamino)-α,β-unsaturated Acids

An efficient two‐step synthetic procedure for the preparation of numerous variations of N‐protected α,β‐unsaturated α‐amino acids and their corresponding esters from N‐protected glycine and either aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes was developed. The reaction involved cyclization of the N‐protected glycine into oxazolone, condensation with the aldehyde, and ring opening with a base.