Abstract A wide range of optically active 3-amino-3-arylpropanoic acid derivatives have been prepared by means of a stereoselective chemoenzymatic route. The key step is the kinetic resolution of the corresponding β-amino esters. Although the enzymatic acylations of the amino group with ethyl methoxyacetate showed synthetically useful enantioselectivities, the hydrolyses of the ester group catalyzed by lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia have ...