Lewis Acid Mediated Regioselective Ring Opening of Benzylglycidol with Dibenzyl Phosphate: Short and Attractive Synthesis of Dihydroxyacetone Phosphate

Abstract

A novel, mild, and efficient method was described to introduce a dibenzyl phosphate by ring opening of benzylglycidol mediated by Lewis acids. This methodology was used as a key step for synthesizing the dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) in only three steps with an overall yield of 74% from the commercially available racemic benzylglycidol.