Astra Pharmaceutical Production Aktiebolag

Britt I Keding

Bengt Bertil Samuelsson

Bo A Lindqvist

A process for preparing S-metoprolol of the formula ##STR1## or a salt thereof, with high enantiomeric purity, is described, whereby a (S)-5-hydroxymethyl-3-isopropyloxazolidin-2-one sulfonic acid ester of the formula ##STR2## is prepared, and further reacted with 4-[2-methoxyethyl]phenol of the formula ##STR3## and the resulting intermediate of the formula ##STR4## is hydrolysed to S-metoprolol, and whereby the (S)-5-hydroxymethyl-3-isopropyloxazolidin-2-one sulfonic acid ester of formula II is prepared by reacting (S)-3-isopropylamino-1,2-propanediol of the formula ##STR5## with a chloroformic acid ester of the formula ##STR6## wherein R' is an alkyl group having 1-3 carbon atoms or a phenyl group, to the formation of (S)-5-hydroxymethyl-3-isopropyloxazolidin-2-one of the formula ##STR7## which is reacted with an activated sulfonic acid of the formula ##STR8## wherein R' is an aryl group such as tolyl and X is a halogen such as Cl, to formation of the ester of formula II, which when required is enriched with the (S)-enantiomer by crystallization.

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Stockholm, Sweden

Britt I Keding