4-Hydroxy-5-amino-6-phenyl-4-hexanolide has been synthesized under its
cyclized form (lactone 5) from a very inexpensive chiral starting mat
erial, L-glutamic acid The key steps were an original reduction of car
bonyl of a ketone with n-Bu(3)SnH in the presence of silica gel, follo
wed by an SN2 displacement of a mesylate group with sodium azide