General procedure for the synthesis of 3-hydroxymethylisoxazole from 3-formylisoxazole: 0.039 g (1.03 mmol) of sodium borohydride was dissolved in a solvent mixture of 4 mL of tetrahydrofuran and 0.13 mL of methanol and cooled in an ice bath under conditions of 0°C to 5°C. Subsequently, 1 mL of tetrahydrofuran solution containing 0.100 g (1.03 mmol) of 3-formylisoxazole was added dropwise to this solution. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours and then concentrated by rotary evaporator. The concentrated residue was separated by extraction with water and ethyl acetate. The organic phase was washed with saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and evaporated to dryness again by rotary evaporator. Finally 0.110 g of 3-hydroxymethylisoxazole was obtained in a yield of 100% of the theoretical value.
