A facile method for synthesis of (R)-(−)- and (S)-(+)-homocitric acid lactones and related α-hydroxy dicarboxylic acids from d- or l-malic acid

We report here a simple and convenient route for the stereoselective synthesis of (R)-(−)- and (S)-(+)-homocitric acid lactones, which play very important roles in biochemistry. The method involves only three steps, starting from the readily available methyl 3-iodopropionate and d-malic acid or l-malic acid, respectively. The stereoconfiguration of the target molecules has been achieved via a self-regeneration approach with over 98% diastereoselectivity and significantly improved yield over the previous methods.