The synthesis of α‐amino ketones from the rearrangement of
N
,
N
‐dichloro‐
sec
‐alkylamines by means of the treatment of sodium methoxide and this reaction is referred as Baumgarten α‐amino ketone synthesis. It is a specific method to synthesize α‐amino ketones and α‐amino acids. This reaction has also been modified for preparing α‐amino ketones from the reaction between more generally available nitriles and a Gringard reagent.