Beta-amino alcohols derived from natural amino acids have been used extensively as a powerful source of chirality. Transformation of the hydroxy group of these beta-amino alcohols into a good leaving group, by using trifluoroacetic anhydride, led to rearranged beta-amino alcohols in good yields and with high enantiomeric excesses. This rearrangement has allowed the transformation of substituted prolinols to substituted 3-hydroxypiperidines and linear beta-amino alcohols, issued from natural amino acids, to rearranged beta-amino alcohols.

Commercial electrowetting-based liquid lenses are optical devices containing two immiscible liquids as an optical medium. The first phase is a droplet of a high refractive index oil phase placed in a ring-shaped chassis. The second phase is electrically conductive and has a similar density over a wide temperature range. Droplet curvature and refractive index difference of two liquids determine the optical strength of the lens. Liquid lenses take advantage of the electrowetting effect, which induces a change of the interface's curvature by applying a voltage, thereby providing a variable focal that is useful in autofocus applications. The first generation of lens modules were highly reliable, but the optical strength and application scope was limited by a low refractive index difference between the oil and conductive phase. Described herein is an effort to increase the refractive index difference between both phases, while maintaining other critical application characteristics of the liquids, including a low freezing point, viscosity, phase miscibility, and turbidity after thermal shock. An important challenge was the requirement that both phases have to have matching densities and hence had to be optimized simultaneously. Using high throughput experimentation in conjunction with statistical design of experiments (DOE), we have developed a series of empirical models to predict multiple physicochemical properties of both phases and derived ideal locations within the formulation space. This approach enabled the development of reliable liquid lenses with a previously unavailable refractive index difference of Δ n of ≥0.290, which enabled true optical zooming capability.