A full account is given of the chiral syntheses of sulfur-containing L
-phenylalanine derivatives (8b,c), selected as key intermediates for t
he synthesis of models for the starfish alkaloid imbricatine (7), via
a 5-step route starting from N,N-diethyl-3,5-dimethoxybenzamide (9). T
he key steps involve introduction of a sulfur substituent into 9 at th
e 2-position and construction of the chiral a-amino acid moiety in the
chlorides (12b,c) by the ''bis-lactim ether'' method.