Steroid Strecker synthesis

Hydroformylations of several other vinyl substrates were carried out (Table 4). Vinyl acetate is a particularly interesting substrate, since, as mentioned earlier, it gives 2-acetoxypropanal, a precursor in the Strecker synthesis of threonine. The product can be converted to 2-hydroxypropanal, a useful intermediate in the synthesis of steroids, pheromones, antibiotics and peptides. 

Acetoxypropanal, the hydroformylation product of vinyl acetate, can also be used in a Strecker a-amino acid synthesis to provide threonine, as well as being a source of chiral 2-hydroxypropanal, which is a very useful building block in the syntheses of steroids, antibiotics, and peptides For example, the potassium ionophore vali-nomycin, a dodecadepsipeptide that displays significant antibiotic activity, contains three chiral moieties derived from 2-hydroxypropanal. 

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