Hydroxynitriles aldehydes

The hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL)-catalyzed addition of HCN to aldehydes is the most important synthesis of non-racemic cyanohydrins. Since now not only (f )-PaHNL from almonds is available in unlimited amounts, but the recombinant (S)-HNLs from cassava (MeHNL) and rubber tree (HbHNL) are also available in giga units, the large-scale productions of non-racemic cyanohydrins have become possible. The synthetic potential of chiral cyanohydrins for the stereoselective preparation of biologically active compounds has been developed during the last 15 years. 

Hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs or oxynitrilases) catalyze C—C bond-forming reactions between an aldehyde or ketone and cyanide to form enantiopure cyanohydrins (Figure 1.15), which are versatile building blocks for the chiral synthesis of amino acids, hydroxy ketones, hydroxy acids, amines and so on [68], Screening of natural sources has led to the discovery of both... 

The activities of NHases from Rhodococcus sp. Adpl2 and Gordonia sp. BR-1 strains have been partially characterized [25]. In reactions that catalyze the hydration of a-hydroxynitriles such as lactonitrile or glycolonitrile, the substrate can dissociate to produce HCN and the corresponding aldehydes. HCN can inhibit and/or inactivate NHase, and it was determined that these two enzymes remain active in the presence of cyanide ion at concentrations up to 20 him. The dependence of the NHase activity of cell-free extracts of Rhodococcus rhodochrous J1 and Gordonia sp. BR-1 on cyanide ion concentration is illustrated in Figure 8.1, demonstrating the improved cyanide stability of BR-1 NHase relative to that of Jl. 

Roberge, C., Eleitz, E., Pollard, D. and Devine, P., Asymmetric synthesis of cyanohydrin derived from pyridine aldehyde with cross-linked aggregates of hydroxynitrile lyases. Tetrahedron Lett., 2007, 48, 1473-1477. 

The production of optically active cyanohydrins, with nitrile and alcohol functional groups that can each be readily derivatized, is an increasingly significant organic synthesis method. Hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) enzymes have been shown to be very effective biocatalysts for the formation of these compounds from a variety of aldehyde and aliphatic ketone starting materials.Recent work has also expanded the application of HNLs to the asymmetric production of cyanohydrins from aromatic ketones. In particular, commercially available preparations of these enzymes have been utilized for high ee (5)-cyanohydrin synthesis from phenylacetones with a variety of different aromatic substitutions (Figure 8.1). 

Aldehydes and ketones react with HCN to give 2-hydroxynitriles, compounds that are generally termed cyanohydrins. HCN is only a weak acid (pAfa 9.1), and proton availability is insufficient to initiate a typical acid-catalysed reaction via the conjugate... 

Oxynitrilases are enzymes that catalyze the formation and cleavage of cyanohydrins through the stereoselective addition of hydrogen cyanide to aldehydes or methyl ketones giving enantiopure a-hydroxynitriles. The use of (R)-oxynitrilases for the preparation of chiral cyanohydrins has dramatically grown in the last decade because of their possibihties as precursors for the synthesis of many compounds with physiological properties [50]. 

Chiral hydroxynitriles are useful synthetic intermediates. They can be prepared using errzymatic synthesis in reactions between aldehydes or ketones and hydrogen cyanide (Griengl et al., 1997) (Figme 9.10). There are different kinds of ertzymes (hydroxynitrile lyases) catalysing the formation of the (R)- and the (S)-enantiomers, respectively. It is a problem that the reactants can react spontaneously as well. 

Aliphatic aldehydes have been converted to their (R)-cyanohydrins using a bipha-sic system to accommodate hydroxynitrile lyase enzyme (from the Japanese apricot, Prunus mume) as the enantioselective catalyst.251... 

Despite acetonitrile s feeble acidity (pATa ca 29) compared with enolizable aldehydes (67, pA s 16-17), the combination of a simple ruthenium complex, [RuCp(PPli3)2]+, and diazabicycloundecane (DBU) brings about a nitrile-selective deprotonation to give /I-hydroxynitriles (68).274 A mechanism is proposed in which DBU, aldehyde, and acetonitrile can displace triphenylphosphines, with the metal centre activating acetonitrile to convert it to an NC-CFU- ligand (proposed intermediate, 69). A nickel-diarylamidodiphosphine complex (70) also catalyses this transformation in the presence of DBU.275... 

The cooperative catalysis of CpRu(PPh3)2(CH3CN)PF6 (18) and DBU has permitted chemoselective nucleophilic activation of acetonitrile in the presence of base-sensitive aldehydes to afford corresponding /1-hydroxynitriles (19) in good yield (Scheme... 

Activated olefins can also be subjected to cathodic C—C cross coupling reactions with carbonyl compounds. An example of this is the synthesis of y-hydroxynitriles from acrylonitrile and aliphatic aldehydes 353 > ... 

The hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) class of enzymes, also referred to as oxynitrilases, consists of enzymes that catalyze the formation of chiral cyanohydrins by the stereospecific addition of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) to aldehydes and ketones (Scheme 19.36).275 279 These chiral cyanohydrins are versatile synthons, which can be further modified to prepare chiral a-hydroxy acids, a-hydroxy aldehydes and ketones, acyloins, vicinal diols, ethanolamines, and a- and P-amino acids, to name a few.280 Both (R)- and (.S )-selective HNLs have been isolated, usually from plant sources, where their natural substrates play a role in defense mechanisms of the plant through the release of HCN. In addition to there being HNLs with different stereo-preferences, two different classifications have been defined, based on whether the HNL contains a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) co-factor. 

Although nitriles lack an acyl group, they are considered acid derivatives because they hydrolyze to carboxylic acids. Nitriles are frequently made from carboxylic acids (with the same number of carbons) by conversion to primary amides followed by dehydration. They are also made from primary alkyl halides and tosylates (adding one carbon) by nucleophilic substitution with cyanide ion. Aryl cyanides can be made by the Sandmeyer reaction of an aryldiazonium salt with cuprous cyanide. a-Hydroxynitriles (cyanohydrins) are made by the reaction of ketones and aldehydes with HCN. 

You met a way of making nitriles—from HCN (or NaCN + HC1) plus aldehydes the hydroxynitrile products are known as cyanohydrins. 

In particular, the use of hydroxynitrile lyase has proved to be a general and reliable method for obtaining a-hydroxy nitriles of both configurations [22]. An interesting approach is the Upase- and baseacyl-cyanohydrin for a synthetic DKR [23]. This is a combination of two reaction systems the dynamic, base-catalyzed equiUbrium between acetone cyanohydrin, acetone, HCN, aldehyde and a racemic cyanohydrin and the lipase-catalyzed enantioselective and irreversible acylation of the hydroxyl group. The combination yields the... 

Interest in the synthesis of enantiopure 2-hydroxycarboxylic acids via asymmetric enzymatic transformations is still increasing and two pathways have risen into prominence recently. The first is based on enantioselective hydrocyanation of the appropriate aldehyde in the presence of an oxynitrilase (hydroxynitrile lyase, EC 4.1.2.10), which gives rise to the corresponding enantiomerically pure cyanohydrin, followed by chemical hydrolysis in the presence of strong acid (Figure 16.1, route a). This latter step generates copious quantities of salt and is not compatible with sensitive functional groups, which is a serious limitation. 

In conclusion, the bienzymatic transformation of aldehydes and HCN into the enantiomerically pure 2-hydroxycarboxylic acids is feasible. The stereochemistry can be steered either by the hydroxynitrile lyase or by both enzymes in combination and the hydrocyanation equilibrium is no longer an issue because it can be shifted to complete conversion. The formation of large amounts of amide, in particular (S)-4a, somewhat reduces the immediate practical value of our procedure. Ways to obviate this unwanted side-reaction will be discussed later. 

Aromatic aldehydes react with sodium hydrogen sulfite to yield bisulfite compounds. Further reaction with sodium cyanide forms the hydroxynitrile (cyanohydrin), which can sometimes be formed directly from the aldehyde by reaction with hydrogen cyanide (Scheme 6.11). 

Lanthanide isopropoxides were introduced as the first-generation alkoxide-type precatalysts (Structures 1-3) [133]. They proved to be more effective in the catalytic ring-opening of epoxides and aziridines than Et3N [134]. The acetone cyanohydrin reaction provided 5-hydroxynitriles and /3-aminonitriles. Strong basicity of the lanthanide isopropoxides is considered to catalyze the transhydrocya-nation effectively from acetone cyanohydrin to several aldehydes and ketones [135]. YbBu3 exhibited similar catalytic activity in this reaction. 

Oxynitrilases or hydroxynitrile lyases (HNL) constitute a group of enzymes that catalyze the reversible addition of HCN to ketones and aldehydes. The natural role of these enzymes is a defence mechanism of higher plants against herbivores, whereby HCN is liberated from cyanoglucosides such as prunasin (almond, cherry, apple) by the action of a glycosidase and a hydroxynitrile lyase. 

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