Studies on Unusual Amino Acids and Their Peptides. X. The Convenient Synthesis of t-Leucine and the Optical Resolution of the N-Benzyloxycarbonyl Derivative

Abstract
t-Leucine has been conveniently prepared on a large scale from the phenylhydrazone of trimethylpyruvic acid, which was readily obtained as a precipitate from the oxidation of pinacolone. The N-benzyloxycarbonyl derivative of DL-t-leucine has been resolved with quinine and quinidine in ethanol.