We have been working in the area of foldamers composed of various types of unnatural amino acids. Besides their utility in the design of foldamers, these unnatural amino acids such as ,-unsaturated -amino acids and -amino -keto esters have served as starting materials for the construction of various small molecules. Recently, we demonstrated the synthesis of -lactams from ,-unsaturated -amino amides through a base mediated molecular rearrangement. The -amino -keto esters have been used to synthesize functionalized curcumins and fluorescent amino acids, -amino βhydroxy amino acids, and symmetrical tetra-substituted pyrazines through air oxidation. We envisioned that the amino acidfunctionalized 1,4-DHP derivatives can be synthesized using -amino β-keto esters. We herein are reporting the synthesis of amino acid-functionalized 1,4-dihydropyridines using -amino β -keto esters, hexamethylenetetramine and ammonium carbonate.