Remarkable magnitude of the self-disproportionation of enantiomers (SDE) via achiral chromatography: application to the practical-scale enantiopurification of β-amino acid esters.

We report the best performance yet for the self-disproportionation of enantiomers (SDE) via achiral chromatography as typically used in laboratories for the isolated yield of the excess enantiomer using N-acetyl β-amino acid ethyl esters. The results are the most convincing ever demonstration of the capability of the SDE for practical-scale enantiopurification as comparable, or even superior for some systems, to that of recrystallization. For example, from a sample of 94.4 % ee, a yield of 71 % of enantiopure material was isolated in a single chromatographic run. Moreover, the lack of an esoteric structural entity, e.g. strongly polarizing groups, such as, for instance CF3, highlights the fact that the phenomenon is not dependent on the presence of such and thus the process is relevant to any usual-type structure. In contrast to recrystallization, the procedure is predictable, general, and dependable, boding well for its widespread application in routine laboratory settings.