Practical Oxirane Ring Opening with In Situ Prepared LiCN; Synthesis of (2S,3R)-3-(2,4-Difluorophenyl)-3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-butanenitrile

Trisubstituted oxirane 1 was regiospecifically opened with LiCN in situ prepared from acetone cyanohydrin and LiH to provide the corresponding beta-hydroxy nitrile 2 in satisfactory yield, enabling us to manufacture a key intermediate for a new antifungal agent on a multi-kg scale. Same applications of this method to the ring opening of other oxiranes and nucleophilic substitution are also described.