A mild, enantioselective synthesis of (R)-salmeterol via sodium borohydride–calcium chloride asymmetric reduction of a phenacyl phenylglycinol derivative

Abstract

A short and efficient enantioselective route to (R)-salmeterol involving asymmetric reduction of a phenylglycinyl ketone derivative followed by reductive amination of the resulting amino alcohol and hydrogenolysis is described.