A novel approach for the asymmetric synthesis of the active (1S,2R)-enantiomer of the antidepressant milnacipran is reported. The two stereogenic centers borne by the cyclopropane ring were sequentially installed starting from phenylacetic acid.

The bacterial oxidation of aromatic compounds closely related in chemical structure may proceed by different pathways. Thus, while the main features of the breakdown of mandelic acid are established, those of phenylacetate are not, except insofar as it is known to follow a different route (Stanier, 1950). The divergencies may possibly indicate a difference in the mode of ring fission; and since...

Recent reviews on the thermochemistry of organic radicals in the gas phase,'*2 have pointed out the necessity of a reassessment of the heat of formation of the hydroxycarbonyl radical and the corresponding bond-dissociation energy Ed in formic acid. Based on a re-evaluation of the early work of Back and S e h ~ n , ~ McMillen and Golden,' have recommended A,H('CO,H) = -209.2 kJ mol-'; however, ...

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