General procedure for synthesizing 1-adamantylacetic acid from methyl 2-(adamantan-1-yl)acetate and sodium bicarbonate: referring to the preparation of 2-adamantylacetic acid in Example 10, 2.53 g of sodium hydroxide was dissolved in 433 mL of methanol, and 1,125 mL of methanol solution containing 150 g (0.72 mol) of methyl 2-adamantylacetic acid was added, and the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 6 hours at room temperature with stirring. Upon completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture was concentrated under vacuum. To the concentrated residue was added aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution and the mixture was washed with ether. Subsequently, the aqueous layer was adjusted to pH 1 with 12N hydrochloric acid and extracted with ethyl acetate. The combined extracts were dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate. After filtration to remove the desiccant, the filtrate was concentrated in vacuum to give the target product 1-adamantaneacetic acid. Yield: 129.39 g, 93% yield.
