In the title compound, C 19 H 20 N 2 O 5 , the dihedral angle between the phenyl rings is 58. 85 (8) , while that between the planes of the methyl acetate groups is 88. 30 (8) . The molecular conformation is also influenced by the presence of an intramolecular N-HÁ Á ÁO hydrogen bond. In the crystal, N-HÁ Á ÁO hydrogen bonds link the molecules, forming chains propagating along the a-axis direction.
Structure descriptionThe synthesis of new -AAs (-aminoacetates) and their esters is of international interest because of their extensive applications in enzymology, medicine, pharmacology and industry (Leite et al., 2006;Mikołajczyk, 2005;Joly et al., 2004). Our strategy used nucleophilic substitution of the N-protected methyl -azido glycinate with 2-amino-2-phenylacetate in methylene chloride, in the presence of triethylamine as a base (Boukallaba et al., 2006) to produce the title compound in good yield.In the title molecule (Fig. 1), the dihedral angles between the phenyl rings and those between the planes of the methyl acetate groups are 58.85 (8) and 88.30 (8) respectively. The twisted conformation of the molecule is also influenced by the presence of an intramolecular N-HÁ Á ÁO hydrogen bond (Table 1). In the crystal, N-HÁ Á ÁO and C-HÁ Á ÁO hydrogen bonds (Table 1, Fig. 2) link the molecules into chains propagating along the a-axis direction.