Novel oxazolidone compounds and methods for producing the same

The invention comprises oxazolid-4-one compounds having in free base form the formula or wherein R2 represents hydrogen or a lower (C1-5) alkyl radical and R3 and R4 are the same or different and represent hydrogen or lower alkyl radicals), and the preparation thereof by reacting, in the presence of an acid catalyst, a glycollamide R-CH(OH)-CONH2 with an aldehyde or ketone R1=C=O (wherein either R represents hydrogen or a lower alkyl radical and R1 represents hydrogen plus CCl3, or R represents CCl3 and R1 represents two hydrogen atoms, a hydrogen atom plus a lower alkyl radical, or two lower alkyl radicals), and, if desired, when the product is a 2-trichloromethyl-oxazolid-4-one, reacting it with a lower alkylating agent under basic conditions. The products are useful as anti-convulsive agents and, in the case of the 5-trichloromethyl compounds (of which there are two isomers when R3 and R4 are different), as hypnotics.