Structural characterization of an enantiomerically pure amino acid imidazolide and direct formation of the beta-lactam nucleus from an alpha-amino acid.

Decomposition of a diazo beta-ketoamide derived from N-trityl serine imidazolide and N-protected acetanilides provides, instead of the expected 3-acyloxindole product, an enantiomerically pure (EP) beta-lactam. The amino acid stereocenter is incorporated, the second chiral center is induced, and trityl protection of the beta-lactam ring is realized for the first time. The desired 3-acyloxindole is obtained from oxindole and Tr-Ser(OBn)-imidazole, the X-ray of which provides the first structural determination of an EP amino acid imidazolide.