An optimized protocol for the multigram synthesis of 3-(trifluoromethyl)bicyclo[1.1.1]pent-1-ylglycine (CF3-Bpg)

An optimized procedure for the multigram synthesis of 3-(trifluoromethyl)bicyclo[1.1.1]pent-1-ylglycine (CF3-Bpg) has been developed. The overall yield of the synthesis for the optimized up-scaling was increased from 35% to 53%. Moreover, conditions for separating the key isomeric aminonitriles 7 and 8 by crystallization were found, which greatly facilitated the isolation of 8 on a multigram scale. Following this optimized protocol, 100 g of optically pure CF3-Bpg have been synthesized.