Patent ID: 8168805

Claim:
A process for preparing (S)-(−)3-methylamino-1-(2-thienyl)-propan-1-ol, comprising the steps of: (i) performing a Mannich reaction of 2-acetylthiophene, formaldehyde and a methylhydroxylamine of formula, HNCH 3 (OR), to form a substituted amino ketone of formula (I); (ii) reducing the substituted amino ketone of formula (I) enatio-selectively to form a (S)-methylhydroxylaminopropanol compound of formula (II); and (iii) performing an N,O-cleavage reaction of the (S)-methylhydroxylaminopropanol compound of formula (II) to form (S)-(−)-3-methylamino-1-(2-thienyl)-propan-1-ol; wherein R is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms or an aryl group having 6 to 10 carbon atoms.