The regioselective ring opening of the commercially available N-(2, 3-epoxypropyl) phthalimide with different nucleophiles, to obtain the corresponding phthalimidopropan-2- ols (including a challenging fluorohydrin) followed by the Dess–Martin periodinane oxidation, constitutes a general and widely applicable protocol for the preparation of differently functionalized α-phthalimido-α′-substituted propan-2-ones. The incorporation ...