A New Practical Synthesis of Linezolid: An Antibacterial Drug

A novel and practical asymmetric synthesis of (S)-N-[[3-(3-fluoro-4-morpholinyl phenyl)-2-oxo-5-oxazolidinyl] methyl]acetamide has been developed by a new approach without recourse to chromatography and it is employed for the synthesis of Linezolid. This involves the reaction of (R)-epichlorohydrin with N-arylcarbamates and subsequent regioselective epoxide ring opening of resulted intermediate by sodium azide.