Biocatalytic ammonolysis

Gill I, Patel RN. Biocatalytic ammonolysis of (5S)-4,5-dihydro-lH-pyrrole-l,5-dicarboxylic acid, l-(l,l-dimethylethyl)-5-ethyl ester preparation of an intermediate to the dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor saxagliptin. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 16(3), 705, 2006. 

An efficient biocatalytic method for the production of amides in multigrara scale has been developed for the synthesis of a pyrrole-amide, which is an intermediate for the synthesis of the dipeptidyl peptidase IV that regulates plasma levels of the insulinotropic proglucagon. CALB catalyzes the ammonolysis of the ester with ammonium carbamate as source of ammonia (Scheme 7.8) [22]. The use of ascarite and calcium chloride as adsorbents for carbon dioxide and ethanol by-products. 

The synthesis of DPP-IV inhibitor Saxagliptin 5 also required (55)-5-amino-carbonyl-4,5-dihydro-lH-pyrrole-l-carboxylic acid, l-(l,l-dimethylethyl)ester 10 (Figure 16.3C). Direct chemical ammonolyses were hindered by the requirement for aggressive reaction conditions, which resulted in unacceptable levels of amide race-mization and side-product formation, while milder two-step hydrolysis-condensation protocols using coupling agents such as 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-l,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride (DMT-MM) [41] were compromised by reduced overall yields. To address this issue, a biocatalytic procedure was developed based on the Candida antartica lipase B (CALB)-mediated ammonolysis of (55)-4,5-dihydro-lH-pyrrole-l,5-dicarboxylic acid, l-(l,l-dimethylethyl)-5-ethyl ester 9 with ammonium carbamate to furnish 10 without racemization and with low levels of side-product formation. 

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