Enzyme-catalysed kinetic resolution

Another approach to the synthesis of chiral non-racemic hydroxyalkyl sulfones used enzyme-catalysed kinetic resolution of racemic substrates. In the first attempt. Porcine pancreas lipase was applied to acylate racemic (3, y and 8-hydroxyalkyl sulfones using trichloroethyl butyrate. Although both enantiomers of the products could be obtained, their enantiomeric excesses were only low to moderate. Recently, we have found that a stereoselective acetylation of racemic p-hydroxyalkyl sulfones can be successfully carried out using several lipases, among which CAL-B and lipase PS (AMANO) proved most efficient. Moreover, application of a dynamic kinetic resolution procedure, in which lipase-promoted kinetic resolution was combined with a concomitant ruthenium-catalysed racem-ization of the substrates, gave the corresponding p-acetoxyalkyl sulfones 8 in yields... 

Nanda S, Rao AB et al (1999) Enzyme catalysed kinetic resolution of racemic 2,2-dimethyl-3-(2,2-disubstituted vinyl) cyclopropane carboxylic acids anchored on polymer supports. Tetrahedron Lett 40 5905-5908... 

Hydroxyalkyl Acids. The first reliable synthesis of 1-hydroxyalkylphos-phonates (241) in high enantiomeric excess has been achieved via titanium alkoxide-catalysed asymmetric phosphonylation of aldehydes then acetylation and enzyme-catalysed kinetic resolution of the acetates (Scheme 63). ... 

It should be evident that the maximum yield of a particular enantiomer normally available from a racemic mixture is 50%. However, in some enzymic catalysed kinetic resolutions it is possible to obtain >50% yield of one enantiomer from a racemate. For this to occur, it is necessary to have the desired chemical reaction, e.g. enzyme-catalysed stereoselective esterification, occurring at the same time as the enantiomers of the racemic starting compound are interconverting under equilibrium conditions. A successful example of this technique is provided by ben-zaldehyde cyanhydrin (2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetonitrile), whose R and S enantiomers, 49 and 50, respectively, equilibrate in the presence of a basic anion-exchange resin (Scheme 3.5). In the presence of lipase, (S)-ben-zaldehyde cyanhydrin acetate 51 was formed in 95% yield and in 84% enantiomeric excess (see Inagaki et al.u and Ward15). 

Other possibilities to prepare chiral cyanohydrins are the enzyme catalysed kinetic resolution of racemic cyanohydrins or cyanohydrin esters [107 and references therein], the stereospecific enzymatic esterification with vinyl acetate [108-111] (Scheme 2) and transesterification reactions with long chain alcohols [107,112]. Many reports describe the use of fipases in this area. Although the action of whole microorganisms in cyanohydrin resolution has been described [110-116],better results can be obtained by the use of isolated enzymes. Lipases from Pseudomonas sp. [107,117-119], Bacillus coagulans [110, 111], Candida cylindracea [112,119,120] as well as lipase AY [120], Lipase PS [120] and the mammalian porcine pancreatic lipase [112, 120] are known to catalyse such resolution reactions. 

Scheme 6.54 Enzyme-catalysed kinetic resolution of a P-stereogenic phosphine oxide.

The structural integrity of enzymes in aqueous solution is often compromised by the addition of small quantities of water-miscible organic solvents. However, there are numerous examples, particularly using extremophiles, where enzymes have been successfully employed in organic solvent-aqueous mixtures.A good example is the savinase-catalysed kinetic resolution of an activated racemic lactam precursor to abacavir in 1 1 THF/water (Scheme 1.39). The organic solvent is beneficial as it retards the rate of the unselective background hydrolysis. 

The first example of the use of a two-enzyme system in ionic liquids was reported by Kaftzik et al. [75], who investigated the deracemization of ( )-mandelic acid using a lipase-mandelate racemase two-enzyme system in ionic hquids (Fig. 7.9). They used a combination of the mandelate racemase-catalysed racemisation of (R)-mandelic acid and the lipase-catalysed kinetic resolution of (5)-mandelic acid to... 

Schofer SH, Kaftzik N, Wasserscheid P, Kragl U (2001) Enzyme catalysis in ionic liquids lipase catalysed kinetic resolution of 1-phenylethanol with improved enantioselectivity. Chem Commun 5 425-426... 

Two types of racemic 3-hydroxy phosphonates, in which the phosphono and hydroxy moiehes are separated hy double bond, were successfully resolved using a common enzyme-catalysed acetylation. Both acyclic 52 (Equation 28) and cyclic 54 (Equation 29) derivatives underwent easy acetylation under the kinetic resolution conditions to give the products in high yield and with almost full stereoselechvity. 

The ability of enzymes to achieve the selective esterification of one enantiomer of an alcohol over the other has been exploited by coupling this process with the in situ metal-catalysed racemisation of the unreactive enantiomer. Marr and co-workers have used the rhodium and iridium NHC complexes 44 and 45 to racemise the unreacted enantiomer of substrate 7 [17]. In combination with a lipase enzyme (Novozyme 435), excellent enantioselectivities were obtained in the acetylation of alcohol 7 to give the ester product 43 (Scheme 11.11). A related dynamic kinetic resolution has been reported by Corberdn and Peris [18]. hi their chemistry, the aldehyde 46 is readily racemised and the iridium NHC catalyst 35 catalyses the reversible reduction of aldehyde 46 to give an alcohol which is acylated by an enzyme to give the ester 47 in reasonable enantiomeric excess. 

Pellissier, H., Recent developments in dynamic kinetic resolution. Tetrahedron, 2008, 64, 1563-1601 Turner, N.J., Enzyme catalysed deracemisation and dynamic kinetic resolution reactions. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., 2004, 8, 114-119 Gmber, C.C., Lavandera, I., Faber, K. and Kroutil, W., From a racemate to a single enantiomer deracemisation by stereoinversion. Adv. Synth. Catal., 2006, 348, 1789-1805 Pellissier, H., Dynamic kinetic resolution. Tetrahedron, 2003, 59, 8291-8327 Pmnies, O. and Backvall, J.-E., Combination of enzymes and metal catalysts. A powerful approach in asymmetric catalysis. Chem. Rev., 2003, 103, 3247-3261. 

We have used a series of biocatalysts produced by site-directed mutations at the active site of L-phenylalanine dehydrogenase (PheDH) of Bacillus sphaericus, which expand the substrate specificity range beyond that of the wild-type enzyme, to catalyse oxidoreduc-tions involving various non-natural L-amino acids. These may be produced by enantiose-lective enzyme-catalysed reductive amination of the corresponding 2-oxoacid. Since the reaction is reversible, these biocatalysts may also be used to effect a kinetic resolution of a D,L racemic mixture. ... 

The kinetic resolution of /3-hydroxy sulfides mediated by CHMO provides an excellent result in the case of sulfide ( )-2 and moderate results with ( )-l and ( )-3. Indeed, the enzyme-catalysed oxidation to sulfoxide 2a showed remarkable enantio- and diastereo-selectivity with an enantiomeric ratio E of 299 and with an ee > 98 % (C = 47 %). 

Another class of peroxidases which can perform asymmetric sulfoxidations, and which have the advantage of inherently higher stabilities because of their non-heme nature, are the vanadium peroxidases. It was shown that vanadium bromoperoxidase from Ascophyllum nodosum mediates the production of (R)-methyl phenyl sulfoxide with a high 91% enantiomeric excess from the corresponding sulfide with H202 [38]. The turnover frequency of the reaction was found to be around 1 min-1. In addition this enzyme was found to catalyse the sulfoxidation of racemic, non-aromatic cyclic thioethers with high kinetic resolution [309]. 

The most straightforward hydrolase-catalysed preparation of an enantiopure product from a racemic starting material is a kinetic resolution. In a kinetic resolution a racemic ester or amide is hydrolysed enantioselectively (Scheme 6.5 A). At the end of the reaction an enantiopure alcohol or amine is obtained. The unreactive enantiomer of the starting material should ideally also be enantiopure. Consequently the maximum yield for either compound in a kinetic resolution is only 50%. The enantiopurity of the products is dependent on the enantioselectivity of the enzyme this is expressed as the enantiomeric ratio, E, of the enzyme [28]. If the E value for the enzyme is low (<25) neither the unreacted ester nor the obtained product are really pure at 50% conversion. Consequently kinetic re-... 

An elegant way to avoid the low yields and the need for recycling half of the material in the case of kinetic resolutions is a dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR). The dynamic stands for the dynamic equilibrium between the two enantiomers that are kinetically resolved (Scheme 6.6A). This fast racemisation ensures that the enzyme is constantly confronted with an (almost) racemic substrate. At the end of the reaction an enantiopure compound is obtained in 100% yield from racemic starting material. Mathematical models describing this type of reaction have been published and applied to improve this important reaction [32, 33]. There are several examples, in which the reaction was performed in water (see below). In most cases the reaction is performed in organic solvents and the hydrolase-catalysed reaction is the irreversible formation of an ester (for example see Figs. 9.3, 9.4, 9.6, 9.12) or amide (for example see Figs. 9.13, 9.14, 9.16). 

As early as 1984 the porcine pancreas lipase-catalysed enantioselective synthesis of (R)-glycidol was described. At pH 7.8 and ambient temperatures the reaction was allowed to proceed to 60% conversion (Scheme 6.9). This means that the enzyme was not extremely enantioselective, otherwise it would have stopped at 50% conversion. Nonetheless, after workup the (R)-glycidol was obtained in a yield of 45% with an ee of 92% [42]. This was a remarkable achievement and the process was developed into an industrial multi-ton synthesis by Andeno-DSM [34, 43]. While on the one hand a success story, it also demonstrated the shortcomings of a kinetic resolution. Most enzymes are not enantiospecific but enantioselective and thus conversions do not always stop at 50%, reactions need to be fine-tuned to get optimal ees for the desired product [28]. As mentioned above kinetic resolutions only yield 50% of the product, the other enantiomer needs to be recycled. As a result of all these considerations this reaction is a big step forward but many steps remain to be done. 

For the enantiopure production of human rhinovirus protease inhibitors scientists from Pfizer developed a kinetic resolution and recycling sequence (Scheme 6.14 A). The undesired enantiomer of the ester is hydrolysed and can be racemised under mild conditions with DBU. This enzymatic kinetic resolution plus racemisation replaced a significantly more expensive chemical approach [52]. An enzymatic kinetic resolution, in combination with an efficient chemically catalysed racemisation, is the basis for a chiral building block for the synthesis of Talsaclidine and Revatropate, neuromodulators acting on cholinergic muscarinic receptors (Scheme 6.14B). In this case a protease was the key to success [53]. Recently a kinetic resolution based on a Burkholderia cepacia lipase-catalysed reaction leading to the fungicide Mefenoxam was described [54]. Immobilisation of the enzyme ensured >20 cycles of use without loss of activity (Scheme 6.14 C). 

Scheme 6.22 Two-enzyme catalysed dynamic kinetic resolution for the preparation of D-amino acids.

The enzymes of the nucleic acid metabolism are used for several industrial processes. Related to the nucleobase metabolism is the breakdown of hydantoins. The application of these enzymes on a large scale has recently been reviewed [85]. The first step in the breakdown of hydantoins is the hydrolysis of the imide bond. Most of the hydantoinases that catalyse this step are D-selective and they accept many non-natural substrates [78, 86]. The removal of the carbamoyl group can also be catalysed by an enzyme a carbamoylase. The D-selective carbamoylases show wide substrate specificity [85] and their stereoselectivity helps improving the overall enantioselectivity of the process [34, 78, 85]. Genetic modifications have made them industrially applicable [87]. Fortunately hydantoins racemise readily at pH >8 and additionally several racemases are known that can catalyze this process [85, 88]. This means that the hydrolysis of hydantoins is always a dynamic kinetic resolution with yields of up to 100% (Scheme 6.25). Since most hydantoinases are D-selective the industrial application has so far concentrated on D-amino acids. Since 1995 Kaneka Corporation has produced 2000 tons/year of D-p-hydroxyphenylglycine with a D-hydantoinase, a d-carbamoylase [87] and a base-catalysed racemisation [85, 89]. 

Enzymic kinetic resolution of racemic l-arylpropan-2-ols preceded their ZnCl2-catalysed cyclisation to optically pure 3-methylisochromans by treatment with chloromethyl methyl ether (Scheme 20). Conversion to dihydroisocoumarins has been achieved through C-l oxidation. A detailed CD study of these O-hctcrocycles has allowed the determination of their absolute configurations <07EJO296>. 

Enzymic resolutions involve acceptance by the enzyme, which is a very finely honed chiral system, of one enantiomer of a racemic compound, but not the other. The selective acceptance arises because interactions between the enzyme and the enantiomers are diastereomeric. In its natural environment, the ability of an enzyme to discriminate between enantiomers is virtually absolute. In addition to their stereoselectivity, some enzymes can react at very high rates. Each round of catalysis by the enzyme carbonic anhydrase with its physiological substrate occurs in about 1.7 jus at room temperature, although for a small number of other enzymes, best exemplified by the more lethargic lysozyme, the corresponding figure is about a million times slower. Accordingly, the enzyme-catalysed hydrolysis of, say, one enantiomer of an ester proceeds at a finite rate and hydrolysis of the other not at all. Resolutions such as those of 39, 42 and 45 therefore have a kinetic basis and are also known as kinetic resolutions. 

In a classical study the lipase-catalysed enantioselective hydrolysis of racemic p-nitrophenyl-2-methyldecanoate was chosen as the test reaction [15] (Fig. 8). The p-nitrophenyl ester was employed in the kinetic resolution instead of the methyl or ethyl ester, in order to make screening possible [76] (see below). The lipase from the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAOl [77] was used as the enzyme [ 15]. The wild-type enzyme shows an enantioselectivity (ee) of only 2 % in favour of the (S)-configured 2-methyldecanoic acid, which means that the enzyme had essentially no preference for either of the enantiomeric forms. 

Amide formation and hydrolysis is of course also catalysed by enzymes and the recent report that the penicillin acylase from Alcaligenes faecalis catalyses an efficient kinetic resolution of racemic primary amines is very promising. A typical case is our old friend a-methylbenzylamine 57 (see chapter 22). One equivalent of an acyl donor 58 is needed and nearly 50% of the amide 59 can be isolated in excellent ee. The E value is 350 for this amine.20... 

---