Epimerization of Benzylpenicilloic Acid in Alkaline Media

□ 5R,6R -Benzylpenicilloic acid was found to epimerize slowly in alkaline media to 5S,6R-benzylpenicilloic acid until equilibrium was established. Epimerization proceeded via the imine tautomer of penamaldic acid rather than the enamine form and was found to favor the 5S,6R-epimer at equilibrium. The conversion process was monitored using both reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and NMR spectroscopy.