The use of radical decarboxylation in the preparation of 1-methylcarbapenem antibiotic precursors from D-glucosamine

Abstract The stereocontrolled synthesis of optically active 1-methylcarbapenams has been performed by radical cyclization and radical decarboxylation. 1,3,4-Trisubstituted-2-azetidinones, prepared by the Staudinger reaction with D -glucosamine as chiral auxiliary and sorbic acid were used as starting materials.