It is a non-proteinogenic alpha amino acid related to alanine, but with a phenyl group in place of the methyl group.

[1] It is prepared from benzaldehyde by amino cyanation (Strecker synthesis).

[2] It can also be prepared from glyoxal[3] and by reductive amination of phenylglyoxylic acid.

The ester methyl α‐phenylglycinate is used to convert carboxylic acids into homologated unsaturated ketones.

These reactions proceed via cyclization of phenylglycinamides to oxazolones, which can be reductively cleaved with chromous reagents.