[combatwombat]

Will these routes work to produce the following amino acids from the given reagents?

They will produce racemic mixtures of D & L forms, correct?

[combatwombat]

*Ignore me, I am impatient*

can I at least get a thumbs up/thumbs down on either route?

[Squirmy]

The first one looks feasible...you might look up the Strecker synthesis as an alternative.

I have no idea what you're trying to do in the second one and there's a pentavalent carbon. Can you walk me through your line of thinking? (not about the pentavalent carbon, but the route in general )

[combatwombat]

Re #1: Yes, I realize the strecker would be better for the first. However, I feel like this ought to work. Does anyone know if you can use reductive amination on a carboxylic acid? This seems to be the only potentially sticky point.

Re: #2: Wow, I did not notice the pentavalent carbon. Ironically, it was the professor who put that there, not me. Don't remember what I was thinking with that, I don't see how it could work in retrospect.

[AWK]

1 You method may be work, but is much longer and expensive
2. I cannot see any nitrogen atom on the left side
http://orgsynth.org/orgsyn/orgsyn/prepContent.asp?prep=cv5p0373

http://www.uwstout.edu/faculty/schultzf/chem-201/oldQnW/quiz4.pdf - [page 5]