Abstract
Amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) are conventionally synthesized from α-amino acids and phosgene. The present study reports in situ photo-on-demand phosgenation reactions of amino acids with CHCl(3) for synthesizing NCAs. A series of NCAs were obtained on a gram scale upon photo-irradiation of a mixture solution of CHCl(3) and CH(3)CN containing an amino acid at 60-70 °C under O(2) bubbling. This method presents a safe and convenient reaction controlled by light without special apparatuses and reagents.