4-Phenyl-2-pyrrolidinone is a precursor and synthetic intermediate.^1,2It has been used as a precursor in the synthesis of compounds with anticonvulsant and nootropic activities and is an intermediate in the synthesis of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) bromodomain 1 inhibitors.

1.Zhmurenko, L.A., Litvinova, S.A., Mokrov, G.V., et al.Synthesis of 4-phenylpyrrolidone derivatives with anticonvulsant and nootropic activityPharm. Chem. J.53(5)429-435(2019) 2.Hilton-Proctor, J.P., Ilyichova, O., Zheng, Z., et al.Substituted 1-methyl-4-phenylpyrrolidin-2-ones — Fragment-based design of N-methylpyrrolidone-derived bromodomain inhibitorsEur. J. Med. Chem.191112120(2020)