Benzoylformate decarboxylase , benzoin

Miiller and co-workers have developed an enantioselective enzymatic crossbenzoin reaction (Table 2) [43, 44], This is the first example of an enantioselective cross-benzoin reaction and takes advantage of the donor-acceptor concept. This transformation is catalyzed by thiamin diphosphate (ThDP) 23 in the presence of benzaldehyde lyase (BAL) or benzoylformate decarboxylase (BFD). Under these enzymatic reaction conditions the donor aldehyde 24 is the one that forms the acyl anion equivalent and subsequently attacks the acceptor aldehyde 25 to provide a variety of a-hydroxyketones 26 in good yield and excellent enantiomeric excesses without contamination of the other cross-benzoin products 27. The authors chose 2-chlorobenzaldehyde 25 as the acceptor because of its inability to form a homodimer under enzymatic reaction conditions. 

Table 2.2.1.3 Synthesis of (R)-benzoin catalyzed by benzoylformate decarboxylase variants.

As an obvious extension of the benzoin reaction, the cross-coupling of aldehydes or of aldehydes and ketones was first achieved with the thiamine-dependent enzyme benzoylformate decarboxylase. This linked a variety of mostly aromatic aldehydes to acetaldehyde to form the corresponding a-hydroxy ketones, both chemo- and stereoselectively [31]. Synthetic thiazolium salts, developed by Stetter and co-workers and similar to thiamine itself [32], have been successfully used by Suzuki et al. for a diastereoselective intramolecular crossed aldehyde-ketone benzoin reaction during the course of an elegant natural product synthesis [33], Stereocontrol was exerted by pre-existing stereocenters in the specific substrates, the catalysts being achiral. 

Milller and co-workers recently developed an enantioselective benzoin dimerization using purified enzymes from Pseudomonas. The thiamine diphosphate (ThDP) dependent enzymes benzaldehyde lyase (BAL) and benzoylformate decarboxylase (BED) were found to catalyze the reversible benzoin condensation of aromatic aldehydes. The reaction is driven in the forward direction by the poor solubility of the benzoin products in aqueous media. A wide variety of aromatic aldehydes are accepted by BAL, and products of the (/ )-configuration are produced in excellent yield and enantiomeric purity. The (S)-enantiomer of benzoin is also available in high enantiomeric purity from a BAL-catalyzed kinetic resolution of rac-benzoin. In the presence of excess acetaldehyde, BAL selectively converts (i )-benzoin into (/ )-2-hydroxy-l-phenylpropanone, while the (iS)-benzoin enantiomer is not a substrate for the enzyme. At 49% conversion, (5)-benzoin is resolved to > 99% ee. BED can produce (i )-benzoin from benzaldehyde in comparable yield and enantiomeric purity with respect to BAL, but the substrate scope appears more limited. ... 

The enzymes benzaldehyde lyase (BAL) and benzoylformate decarboxylase (BFD) have also been shown to catalyze enantioselective cross-benzoin reactions. Aryl-aryl as well as aryl-alkyl products are produced in high yield and enantiomeric purity. In the case of aryl-aryl products, the success of the reaction depends on the empirical identification of suitable donor/acceptor pairs. Aldehydes containing or/Ao-substituents were found to be ideal acceptors in BAL and BFD-catalyzed cross-benzoin reactions. The preparation of (/ )-l-(4-bromophenyl)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-hydroxyethanone (25) from 4-bromobenzaldehyde (23) and 2-chlorobenzaldehyde (24) highlights the high conversion and selectivity possible in this transformation. As with rac-benzoin, rac-l-(4-bromo-phenyl)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-hydroxyethanone is easily resolved by BAL to give the (5)-enantiomer with high enantiomeric purity. 

A.S. Demir, T. Diinnwald, H. Iding, M. Pohl, M. Muller, Asymmetric benzoin reaction catalyzed by benzoylformate decarboxylase. Tetrahedron Asymmetry 10 (1999) 4769-4774. 

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