Patent ID: 8148430

Claim:
A process for the hydrogenation of a compound, comprising hydrogenating a C 6 -C 18 aromatic substituted amino acid or C 6 -C 18 aromatic substituted amino alcohol in the presence of a platinum-rhodium mixed catalyst, wherein said C 6 -C 18 aromatic substituted amino acid or C 6 -C 18 aromatic substituted amino alcohol is of formula (I): wherein n is 0, 1 or 2; R 1 is a (C 6 -C 18 ) aryl, or a (C 7 -C 19 ) aralkyl, wherein aryl groups are optionally substituted with halogen, (C 1 -C 8 ) alkoxy, (C 1 -C 8 ) acyl, or (C 1 -C 8 ) acyloxy; R 2 is H, OH, (C 1 -C 8 ) alkyl, (C 2 -C 8 ) alkoxyalkyl; R 3 and R 4 are each independently H, a (C 1 -C 8 ) alkyl, a (C 6 -C 18 ) aryl, or together denote an ═O function; P 1 and P 2 are each independently hydrogen, an amino protective group or together stand for a bifunctional amino protective group; P 3 is hydrogen, a hydroxyl protective group, or a carboxyl protective group; and the carbon atom marked with * is an asymmetrical carbon atom; and wherein; said process produces a yield of greater than 94% after a reaction time of about 6 to 8 hours; and the hydrogenation reaction is performed in the presence of a solvent consisting of a mixture of water and an alcohol.