• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.695-699
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• 2009

A short and efficient synthesis of (2S,3S)-safingol from commercially available D-ribo-(2S,3S,4R)-phytosphingosine is described. The highlights of the synthesis are a stereoselective one-pot transformation of a diol into an epoxide under phase transfer catalytic conditions and a regioselective epoxide-opening reduction with a hydride reagent.