α-Hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone is used to initiate the synthesis of enantiomerically pure orthogonally protected δ-azaproline, via Mitsunobu reaction.Used to initiate the synthesis of series of seco-pseudonucleoside synthons via aminolysis. α-Hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone is used to initiate the synthesis of enantiomerically pure orthogonally protected δ-azaproline, via Mitsunobu reaction. α-Hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone is a 5-membered cyclic ester. It was obtained via tin-conversion of biomass-derived 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (DHA) and formaldehyde. Used to initiate the synthesis of series of seco-pseudonucleoside synthons via aminolysis.