Simple and versatile method for tagging phenyldiazirine photophores

The preparation of synthetically useful aldehyde from 3-phenyl-3-trifluoromethyl-3H-diazirine is described, which has enabled many applications, including the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of the photoreactive phenylalanine analog L-4-[3-(trifluoromethyl)-3H-diazirin-3-yl]-phenylalanine (TmdPhe). This new method has the potential to make diarizine photophores useful building blocks for the preparation of diverse photoaffinity probes.