Esterification, lipase-catalyzed enantioselective acylation

The solution was found by using an approach which is closely related to the dynamic resolution of cyanohydrins, i.e., a lipase-catalyzed enantioselective esterification employing vinyl acetate as acyl donor [236]. Thus, dynamic resolution was attempted by making use of the inherent instability of the racemic substrate, which - being a hemithioacetal - is in equilibrium with the... 

Hydrolytic enzymes can also catalyzed the esterification of alcohols or acids with hetero atoms.1617 Some examples for the reactions of phosphorous and sulfur compounds by lipases are shown in Figure 16. By the repeated enantioselective acylation and hydrolysis of a hydroxyl phosphonate and its acetate with lipase AH, phosphonic acid analogue of carnitine (essential cofactor of fatty acid metabolism), (A)-phosphocarniiine, and its enantiomer were synthesized as shown in Figure 16 (b). 

The alcohol used as cosubstrate in lipase reactions with chiral acyl donors may act as an enantioselective inhibitor that will be detrimental to the enantiomeric excess. This has been reported for C. rugosa lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution by esterification of 2-meth-ylalkanoic acids (Scheme 17) [134]. 

For example, Mikolajczyk and Kielbasinski [172-175] studied the acylation of phosphine boranes 259 using CAL (Chirazyme ) lipase from Candida Antarctica and Lipase AK from Pseudomonas fluorescencs (Scheme 84). The best enantios-electivity was attained in the lipase AK-catalyzed acylation of 259 in cyclohexane solution with vinyl butyrate as an acyl donor (99% ee) for unreacted hydroxypho-sphinate 259 and 43% ee for the acylated product 260. The E-values were on the level of 15. The enzymatic resolution of alkoxy (hydroxymethyl)phenyl-phosphine boranes (/ /S)-261 was achieved by trans-esterification with vinyl acetate in the presence of CALB, Amano AK, Amano PS, Amano AH, and LPL in various solvents. The best enantioselectivity of imreacted alcohol 261 and acylated product 262 was attained in cyclohexane (37% ee, conversion 50%). Kielbasinski [176] recently reported some additional data, including theoretical calculations and more accurate chemical correlation, which proved that the borane reduction of acyclic phosphine oxides proceeded with inversion of configuration at the phosphoms center. On this basis, the stereochemistry of the enzymatic reaction was ultimately determined (Scheme 85). 

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