Oxidation of tartronic acid and dihydroxyacetone to sodium mesoxalate mediated by TEMPO

Using catalytic TEMPO with bleach as regenerating oxidant in water tartronic acid (TA) and dihydroxyacetone (DHA) are converted to mesoxalic (ketomalonic) acid. The DHA oxidation results in partial degradation of the reaction product, while conversion of tartronic acid is complete providing another viable chemical route to a potent hypoglycemic agent starting from relevant commercial products.