A Simple and Efficient Procedure for the Synthesis of Optically Active 4-Methoxy-α-Methylphenylethylamine from Tyrosine

Optically active 4-methoxy-α-methylphenylethylamine (1), a useful chiral building block in medicinal chemistry, was synthesized from L- or D-tyrosine by using a simple and efficient procedure via one-pot zinc reduction of the corresponding O-tosylate (4) in the presence of H2O and NaI in pure form.