Ketones with baker’s yeast

Figure 8.24 Reduction of ketone with baker s yeast in the presence of hydrophobic polymer XAD [16b].

The reduction of nitro ketones with baker s yeast is a good method for the preparation of chiral nitro alcohols.89 The reduction of 5-nitro-2-pentanone with baker s yeast gives the corresponding (5)-alcohol, which is an important chiral building block. Various chiral natural products are prepared from it. In Scheme 7.16, the synthesis of the pheromone of Andrena haemorrhoa is described, where the acylation of the chiral nitro alcohol followed by radical denitration is involved as key steps.89a... 

The bioreduction of carbonyl compounds with reductases has been exploited for many years, especially in the case of ketones, with baker s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae) being the most popular biocatalyst [45]. For instance, yeast treatment of 3-chloropropiophenone affords the expected (lS)-3-chloro-l-phenylpropan-l-ol, which was treated with trifluorocresol in tertrahydrofuran in the presence of tri-phenylphosphine and diethyl azodicarboxylate at room temperature to give (3R)-l-chloro-3-phenyl-3-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]propane and the later reaction with methylamine leads to (R)-fluoxetine that is an important serotonin uptake inhibitor (Scheme 10.19) [46]. 

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