Nitration of 2-hydroxy-DL-phenylalanine (I) with nitronium tetrafluoroborate in cooled acetonitrile provided the dinitro compound (II), which was isolated through a cation exchange column as the ammonium phenolate salt. Acylation under Schotten Baumann conditions gave racemic acetamide (III). Then, kinetic resolution with Aspergillus acylase I produced the desired (S)-amine together with unaltered (R)-acetamide (IV), which were separated by partition between water and ethyl acetate. The organic extract provided (S)-amine with an optical purity of > 99% e.e.