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A procedure for the conversion of a symmetrical ketone to an enantiomerically pure lactam is described. The technique described here involves a ring-expansion reaction of a 4-substituted cyclohexanone accomplished with a chiral 1,3-azidopropanol derivative. The procedure entails first a one-step preparation of (R)-1-phenyl-3-azidopropanol from a commercially available halide precursor, which is then reacted with the ketone using BF(3) x OEt(2) as a Lewis acid promoter. The resulting lactam is subsequently converted into a chiral lactam of high enantiopurity via the two-stage removal of the chiral nitrogen substituent. The present protocol carries out the diastereoselective ring-expansion reaction with higher selectivity than competing processes and is generally useful for the preparation of 5-substituted caprolactams.