Would (1S,2S)-2-amino-1phenyl-1,3-propanediol be a likely precursor to amphetamine after reduction?
To clarify the question,
1)During reduction would cyclization be problematic?
2)Would stereochemistry after reduction be any sort of problem?
Possible routes would be diol->dichloro->alkene (the route I think that would most likely lead to cyclization), straight catalytic over Pd/C, or the Chlorotrimethylsilane/NaI/Acetonitrile routes...
I am still unclear whether or not catalytic hydrogenation causes inverted stereochemistry, after reading about 10 contradictory posts where the point was never brought to conclusion. I don't believe it to be the case though.
Please flame at leisure, if you are bored, I realize I am quite the target for proposing this. Yes, it isn't a common chem, and it's final product would not be n-methyl, but if it was simply lying around, could it be utilized in a facile manner?