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[reaction: see text] In the presence of MS 4A in DMSO, cyanobenzoylation of various aldehydes with benzoyl cyanide proceeded very smoothly to give the corresponding cyanohydrin benzoates in high to excellent yields without an acid or a base. On the other hand, reaction of aldehydes with BzCN in DMSO-H(2)O also occurred readily to afford the corresponding free cyanohydrins exclusively.
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Watahiki et al. (2003) studied this question.
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