Ketone Rhodotorula rubra

It might be mentioned in passing that a recent study (80) on microbial reduction of ( )-60 with Rhodotorula rubra offered a convenient method for its optical resolution in that the microbe preferentially reduced the (- )-( )-enantiomer and left (+)-(R)-ketone intact with 58% optical purity. 

When incubated with these racemic cage-shaped Ca ketones—such as 9-twistbrendanone (204), 2-brexanone (170), Daj bisnoradamantanone (163), D3 trishomocubanone (189), or Ca 4-methanoditwistanone (192)-both Curvu-laria lunata and Rhodotorula rubra preferentially reduce the enantiomers (P Ca ketones) whose common stereochemical feature is that they have larger parts of molecule in upper-right and lower-left quadrants in their quadrant pro-... 

Zagozda, M. and Plenkiewicz, J. (2006) Enantioselective reduction of a, 3-unsaturated ketones by Geotrichum candidum, Mortierdla isahellina and Rhodotorula rubra yeast. Tetrahedron Asymmetry, 17, 1958-1962. 

The propyl analog of hydroxysulfone 65 was obtained by reduction of the corresponding ketone with the red yeast Rhodotorula rubra [117]. Intermediates of the same class of products obtained by microbial reduction are also present in the patent literature [118,119]. 

---