Optically Active Intermediate from the Degradation of (-)-Laudanosine, a Benzylisoquinoline Alkaloid, with Ethyl Chloroformate

Degradation of (-)-laudanosine, a 1-benzyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid, with ethyl chloroformate (ECF) afforded an optically active chloro-carbamate as an intermediate. The reason why this intermediate exhibits an optical activity was investigated by comparison with the reactions of some model compounds with ECF. It may be supposed that the chloride group in a hypothetic carbenium ion intermediate stands very closely to the chiral center, so conserving optical activity. However, a neighboring group effect can not be excluded.