The chemoselective oxidation of α-hydroxy acids to α-keto acids catalyzed by 2-azaadamantane N-oxyl (AZADO), a nitroxyl radical catalyst, is described. Although α-keto acids are labile and can easily release CO2 under oxidation conditions, the use of molecular oxygen as a cooxidant enables the desired chemoselective oxidation.

Fluorescent, photoactivatable, and other functional amino acids were efficiently synthesized by a one-pot, two-step protocol.

A practical telescoping three-step process for the syntheses of α-amino acids from the corresponding 1,2-diols has been developed. This process enables the direct synthesis of free α-amino acids without any protection/deprotection step. This method was also effective for the preparation of a 15N-labeled α-amino acid. 1,2-Diols bearing α,β-unsaturated ester moieties afforded bicyclic α-amino acids through intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloadditions. A preliminary study suggests that the resultant α-amino acids are resolvable by aminoacylases with almost complete selectivity.

The transamination of α-keto acids with 2-phenylglycine is an effective methodology for directly synthesizing unprotected α-amino acids. However, the synthesis of 2-arylglycines by transamination is problematic because the corresponding products, 2-arylglycines, transaminate the starting arylglyoxylic acids. Herein, we demonstrate the use of commercially available l-2-(2-chlorophenyl)­glycine as the nitrogen source in the transamination of arylglyoxylic acids, producing the corresponding 2-arylglycines without interference from the undesired self-transamination process.