TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: (III) is: directly converted to the (II) by the treatment with an oxidizing agent including potassium permanganate, sodium nitrite, potassium peroxymonosulfate, a mixture of potassium hydrogen sulfate and potassium peroxydisulfate and molecular oxygen in the presence of a copper-based catalyst; oxidized in a first step to the (IV), and then to (II); and oxidized to (V) by treatment with an oxidizing agent or by a Nef reaction, followed by conversion of (V) to compound (II). The process further comprises: resolution of the racemic mixture of (II) to give (II) in optically active form, by enantioselective enzymatic hydrolysis of the ester group of (II); and resolution of a racemic mixture of (II) to give an enantiomerically pure (II) by formation of the diastereomeric salts with a chiral amine. Preferred Components: The chiral amine is (S)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrol-1-naphthylamine, (S)-phenylethylamine, or (S)-naphthylethylamine. ACTIVITY - Antiinflammatory; Hepatotropic; Virucide.    MECHANISM OF ACTION - Viral protease inhibitor.    EXAMPLE - 7 ml of Dimethyl sulfoxide, 0.72 g of sodium nitrite and 2 ml of acetic acid were added to dissolve in (6aS)-1-(nitromethyl)-1,2,3,3a,4,5,6,6a-octahydrocyclopenta(c)pyrrole compound, and the mixture was maintained under stirring at 35 degrees C for 6 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, treated with 10% of hydrochloric acid until it reaches pH range to 2-3, and then extracted with 5x 10 ml of diethyl ether. The ether solution was concentrated to 20 ml, and then extracted with 5% of sodium hydroxide. The basic aqueous phase was washed with 3x 7 ml of diethyl ether, and then acidified with 10% of hydrochloric acid (pH 2-3) and extracted with 5x 10 ml of diethyl ether. The combined ether extracts were dried on anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and concentrated at low pressure to obtain hexahydro-cyclopenta(c)pyrrole-1,2-dicarboxylic acid 2-tert-butyl ester.