The use of 2-hydroxymethyl benzoic acid as an effective water surrogate in the Passerini reaction: A straightforward access to α-hydroxyamides

Dozens of strategies have been described for the synthesis of α-hydroxyamides over the years, but they share common drawbacks in terms of generality and tolerability, especially to acid labile functionalities. Here we report a truncated Passerini reaction suitable for the easy and mild preparation of functionalized α-hydroxyamides. In particular, this procedure is tolerant to acid sensitive protecting groups, which remain intact during the multicomponent reaction.