Patent ID: 8519175

Claim:
A functionalized amino acid compound selected from: wherein: X is selected from: —CH 2 COO—; —CH(CH 3 )COO—; —CH 2 CH 2 OCH 2 COO—; —CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 COO—; —(CH 2 ) y COO—; and, —(CH 2 CH 2 O) z CH 2 COO—, where y is selected from 2, 3, 4 and 6-24 and z is selected from 2-24, Y is selected from: —COCH 2 O—; —COCH(CH 3 )O—; —COCH 2 OCH 2 CH 2 O—; —COCH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O—; —CO(CH 2 ) m O—; and, —COCH 2 O(CH 2 CH 2 O) n —, where m is selected from 2-4 and 6-24 and n is selected from 2-24; R′ is selected from hydrogen, benzyl, and a straight-chained or branched C 1-6 alkyl; a, b, and c, are independently selected from 0-4, provided that a+b+c total from 2-6.