O-selective acetylation of tyrosine

1. HTyr(Ac)OH.MsOH:

Methanesulfonic acid 80mL (1.2 mol) solution in acetic acid 0.5L was added to L-tyrosine 181.2g (1.0 mol, Aldrich 97%+) in a 5L 29/42 joint flask and the mixture was stirred vigorously without cooling until complete tyrosine dissolution (about 2 hours). The flask was placed in +10C water bath and the mixture was stirred till the internal temperature was about 15C. Neat acetanhydride 105mL (1.1 mol) was added dropwise over a 30 min period with a vigorous stirring and cooling on cold water bath, then continued at 15-20C for additional 90 min, at which time a voluminous precipitate solidified the reaction mixture. Peroxide-free THF 1L was added to the crystalline mass, the mixture was mashed up with a large spatula to break the lumps and then stirred vigorously for 20 min. The precipitate was collected by filtration, washed thoroughly with THF, the product was dried by suction under N2 blanket and then in vacuo until only a faint smell of AcOH remained with the product (10 Torr, 1 day). Y=259.8g of white solid (84% th)
1H(d6-DMSO, 400MHz): 8.28(br s, 3H), 7.29(app d, 8.6Hz, 2H), 7.10(app d, 8.6Hz, 2H), 4.20(br t, 6.4Hz, 1H), 3.10(br d, 6.4Hz, 2H), 2.33(s, 3H), 2.26(s, 3H)

2. HTyr(Ac)OH:

The O-acetyl tyrosine mesylate salt from the first step was dissolved in D.I. water 0.5L in a 4L large beaker, a solution of triethylamine 118mL (0.84 mol; 1 eq.) in ethanol 0.5L was added rapidly with stirring, the crystallized mixture was combined with additional ethanol 1L and agitated with a large spatula, then stirred for 30 min and finally placed into a refrigerator (+ 4C) overnight. The precipitated product was collected by filtration, rinsed thoroughly with chilled 200-proof ethanol (0.5L, +4C) and then with few small portions of ambient ethanol (4x20mL), dried by suction under N2 blanket and then thoroughly dried in vacuo. Y=168.4g (79.5% overall) of a white fluffy solid.
1H(D2O 0.7mL/10mg, 400MHz): 7.36(app d, 8.4Hz, 2H), 7.14(app d, 8.4Hz, 2H), 4.79(s, 3H; HOD), 3.98(dd, 8.0Hz, 5.5Hz, 1H), 3.29(dd-ABX, 14.7Hz, 5.3Hz, 1H), 3.14(dd-ABX, 14.7Hz, 7.8Hz, 1H), 2.34(s, 3H)

Note:  Effective stirring and cooling during the Ac2O addition is important for achieving good results. Using a cheap grade of tyrosine (a yellowish muddy powder, with some impurities detectable on NMR in aromatic region) is tolerable – and MsOH from an old bottle that was already a bit dark worked fine in this procedure – but the used THF should be aldehyde+peroxide free.

nitrilotriacetic acid anhydride

30 mL of acetanhydride (317 mmol) was added to a slurry of nitrilotriacetic acid N(CH2CO2H)3 50.0g (261.5 mmol) in DMF 100mL. N-methylimidazole 0.21mL (1 mol%) was added and the mixture was stirred and heated on a 60 C oil bath for 6 hours under Ar – the mixture gradually became homogenous. Neat allyl bromide 0.5mL (2.2 mol%) was then added and the heating was continued for additional 30 min, to inactivate the catalyst. The flask was finally equipped with a shortpath distillation adapter and the mixture was concentrated by vacuum distillation from a 60 C oil bath (1 to 0.1 Torr; the receiving flask was chilled with liquid nitrogen). With most volatiles removed and the distillation residue solidifying, the distillation was terminated and the distillation flask was cooled to ambient temperature under Ar. The residue was dissolved in acetone 300mL (15 min stirring at ambient temperature. Fisher histology grade acetone was used straight from the can). The obtained cloudy solution was diluted with 1,2-dichloroethane 200mL and filtered through a fine-porosity Buchner funnel. The filtrates were slowly concentrated on rotovap from an ambient water bath down to about 150mL total volume. The precipitated crude product (35g) was collected by filtration, washed with dichloroethane and dried in vacuo. The crude product was dissolved in acetone 250mL, the solution was diluted with dichloroethane 250mL and then slowly concentrated on rotovap from ambient water bath, down to about 200mL total volume. The precipitated purified product was collected by filtration, rinsed with dichloroethane and dried in vacuo. Y=31.81g (70% theory) of a light-pink colored crystalline solid that gradually turns white on storage.

1H(d6-acetone, 400 MHz): 3.920(s, 4H), 3.620(s, 2H); 13C(d6-acetone, 100 MHz): 171.18, 165.51(2C), 54.79, 52.54(2C)

Note: The crude product from reaction mixture evaporation residue contains another anhydride species, up to 15% by NMR (similar spectra but shifted downfield), which “disappears” during the workup. It is probably a dimeric bis-anhydride because it gets hydrolyzed by traces of moisture during the workup whereas the desired product is reasonably stable in non-dried acetone (in the absence of N-methylimidazole). The starting material N(CH2CO2H)3 is insoluble in acetone, so it is removed by filtration