1. Synthesis and Explosion Hazards of 4‑Azido‑l‑phenylalanine
- Author
-
Richardson, Mark B, Brown, Derek B, Vasquez, Carlos A, Ziller, Joseph W, Johnston, Kevin M, and Weiss, Gregory A
- Subjects
Organic Chemistry ,Chemical Sciences ,Azides ,Catalysis ,Copper ,Molecular Structure ,Phenylalanine ,Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry ,Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry ,Organic chemistry - Abstract
A reliable, scalable, cost-effective, and chromatography-free synthesis of 4-azido-l-phenylalanine beginning from l-phenylalanine is described. Investigations into the safety of the synthesis reveal that the Ullman-like Cu(I)-catalyzed azidation step does not represent a significant risk. The isolated 4-azido-l-phenylalanine product, however, exhibits previously undocumented explosive characteristics.
- Published
- 2018