substantially pure melphalan hcl inventors have thus found a novel method for isolating melphalan hydrochloride directly by extracting it into a suitable solvent from an aqueous solution of the hydrochloride salt of melphalan the purity of the hydrochloride salt is gt 99 5 with monohydroxymelphalan below 0 15 dihydroxymelphalan below 0 1 melphalan dimer below 0 15 1 oh the present inventors have found yet another novel method of purification of low purity melphalan hydrochloride or free base by converting to pure melphalan hydrochloride the process involves dissolving melphalan hydrochloride of any purity in aqueous hydrochloride solution adjusting the ph to 0 3 to 1 2 followed by extraction with organic solvents like ethyl acetate isopropyl acetate isobutyl acetate acetonitrile dioxane or the like ethyl acetate being the preferred solvent the organic solvent is distilled at temperatures of 25 65 u00b0 c to give melphalan hydrochloride salt with gt 99 5 hplc purity any single impurity of less than 0 15 monohydroxymelphalan below 0 15 dihydroxymelphalan below 0 1 melphalan dimer below 0 15 melphalan hcl in its substantially pure form can be converted to melphalan free base by ph adjustment to 3 to 5 in water with a basic solution of sodium bicarbonate or the like at about 5 u00b0 c to provide the free base with gt 99 3 purity and the monohydroxymelphalan below 0 15 and dihydroxymelphalan below 0 1 the process of the invention is illustrated below in scheme i and further illustrated by the following examples 50 g of s methyl 3 4 aminophenyl 2 ethoxycarbonylamino propanoate formula ii was dissolved in 950 ml water at 40 50 u00b0 c and the mixture was.