A facile synthesis of (S)-felodipine

A short and facile synthesis of (S)-felodipine was developed starting from (R)-glycidol as the source of the chiral auxiliary. 2-Hydroxyethyl esters were found to undergo selective transesterification reactions in the presence of other esters. This selective transesterification reaction was applied to the synthesis of (S)-felodipine through selective substitution of the 2-hydroxyethyl group possessing chiral ester with sodium methoxide.