Abstract
ATTEMPTS to prepare the fully acetylated methyl ester of muramic acid for subsequent use in the Koenigs-Knorr condensation have led to some unexpected compounds. A lactam II (‘muramo lactam’) was obtained when muramic acid1,2 was treated with diazomethane at 0° and the excess evaporated immediately to avoid methyl glycoside formation3. Lactam II, which can also be obtained by the action of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) in dimethyl sulphoxide for 48 h at room temperature, had negligible methoxyl content, negative ninhydrin and lactone4 reactions and a broad absorption in the infra-red spectrum at 1,655 cm−1, indicating its lactam character. 
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CARROLL, P. Acetyl Derivatives of Muramic Acid. Nature 197, 694–695 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/197694a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/197694a0
