DOPA, synthesis properties

A Garzon, A Poupaert, M Claesen, P Dumont. A lymphotropic prodrug of L-dopa Synthesis, pharmacological properties, and pharmacokinetic behavior of 1,3-dihex-adecanoyl-2-r(S)-2-amino-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) propanoyl] propane-1,2,3-triol. J Med Chem 29 687-691, 1986. 

Vanillin is widely used as a flavor in pharmaceuticals, foods, beverages, and confectionery products, to which it imparts a characteristic taste and odor of natural vanilla. It is also used in perfumes, as an analytical reagent and as an intermediate in the synthesis of a number of pharmaceuticals, particularly methyl-dopa. Additionally, it has been investigated as a potential therapeutic agent in sickle cell anemia and is claimed to have some antifungal properties. 

One of the early and important achievement was the preparation, in 1975, of dipamp 7 at Monsanto by Knowles et al. [31]. This chiral diphosphine combines the good properties of a C2-symmetric chelating system with the simultaneous presence of two asymmetric phosphorus. It was efficient in the asymmetric hydrogenation of dehydroaminoacids fee s of up to 90-95%), allowing the preparation of (S)-DOPA on an industrial scale from the mid-1970s. This was the first industrial asymmetric synthesis. 

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