Scale-up of Azide Chemistry: A Case Study

We report research and development conducted to enable the safe implementation of a highly enantioselective palladium-catalyzed desymmetrization of a meso-bis-ester using trimethylsilylazide (TMSN3) as the nucleophile. This work is used as a case example to discuss safe practices when considering the use of azide reagents or intermediates, with a focus on the thermodynamic and quantitative analysis of the hazards associated with hydrazoic acid (HN3).