10.2174/157017809790443005
The study presents a new method for preparing N-tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (TPCK), an irreversible serine protease inhibitor, without using toxic and explosive diazomethane. L-Phenylalanine is first tosylated to form N-tosyl-L-phenylalanine, which is then converted into its 4-nitrophenyl ester using DCC and DMAP. This ester reacts with dimethylsulfoxonium methylide, generated from trimethylsulfoxonium iodide and potassium tert-butoxide, to form a sulfur ylide. The sulfur ylide is subsequently treated with lithium chloride and methanesulfonic acid to produce the chloroketone, TPCK. This method achieves an overall yield of 36% and avoids the use of hazardous diazomethane, providing a safer and practical synthesis route.