Transesterification, kinetic resolution, lipases

Resolution of racemates via lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution is one of the most attractive methods used to access to enantiomerically pure compounds. Of all methods used in kinetic resolution, transesterification in organic solvents catalyzed by lipase is the most dominant one. Thus, in the presence of a suitable acyl donor, an enzyme as well as the appropriate solvent, and at the optimum temperature, one enantiomer of the racemic mixture is selectively transferred to the corresponding ester leaving the second unreacted enantiomer in enantiomerically pure form.51-58... 

Kinetic Resolution by Transesterification. Asymmetric transformation involving acylation of chiral alcohols is by far the most common example of kinetic resolution by lipase-catalyzed transesterification, most commonly with irreversible vinyl esters. This field is now becoming the most widely applied technique involving lipases. Recent reports of the numerous secondary alcohol substrates include various monocyclic (eq 6) andacyclic compounds, cyanohydrins, sulfones, and glycals, to name a few. 

The one-pot dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) of ( )-l-phenylethanol lipase esterification in the presence of zeolite beta followed by saponification leads to (R)-l phenylethanol in 70 % isolated yield at a multi-gram scale. The DKR consists of two parallel reactions kinetic resolution by transesterification with an immobilized biocatalyst (lipase B from Candida antarctica) and in situ racemization over a zeolite beta (Si/Al = 150). With vinyl octanoate as the acyl donor, the desired ester of (R)-l-phenylethanol was obtained with a yield of 80 % and an ee of 98 %. The chiral secondary alcohol can be regenerated from the ester without loss of optical purity. The advantages of this method are that it uses a single liquid phase and both catalysts are solids which can be easily removed by filtration. This makes the method suitable for scale-up. The examples given here describe the multi-gram synthesis of (R)-l-phenylethyl octanoate and the hydrolysis of the ester to obtain pure (R)-l-phenylethanol. 

In a succeeding publication, the same authors reported on an enantiose-lective approach to diquinane enones 6 and ent-6 by combining the above-described synthesis with an enzymatic kinetic resolution (Scheme 4) [12]. After lipase-catalyzed enantioselective transesterification of diol rac-12. 

There are basically two approaches to the synthesis of enantiomerically pure alcohols (i) kinetic resolution of the racemic alcohol using a hydrolase (lipase, esterase or protease) or (ii) reduction mediated by a ketoreductase (KRED). Both of these processes can be performed as a cascade process. The first approach can be performed as a dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) by conducting an enzymatic transesterification in the presence of a redox metal [e.g. a Ru(ll) complex] to catalyze in situ racemization of the unreacted alcohol isomer [11] (Scheme 6.1). We shall not discuss this type of process in any detail here since it forms the subject of Chapter 1. 

When the water-miscible ionic liquid [MMIM][MeS04] was used as a neat medium for the enzymatic transformations, however, poorer performance was observed. For the kinetic resolution of mc-l-phenylethanol by transesterification with vinyl acetate with a set of different lipases dispersed in the pure ionic liquid, it was found that [MMIM][MeS04] was among the poorest media for the enzymes (291). It has been recognized that some water-miscible ionic liquids in the pure form are denaturants (27), but, when they are used in the presence of excess water, their tendency to... 

The improvement of the enantioselectivity E in kinetic resolution of a primary alcohol (10) through lipase-catalyzed transesterification was studied using a chiral acyl donor 11. The combination of the lipase, solvent and acyl donor was effective for the enantioselectivity.62... 

In order to reduce the time needed to perform a complete kinetic resolution Lindner et al53 reported the use of the allylic alcohol 30 in enantiomerically enriched form rather than a racemic mixture in kinetic resolution. Thus, the kinetic resolution of 30 was performed starting from the enantiomerically enriched alcohol (R) or (S)-30 (45%) ee obtained by the ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric reduction of 32 with the aim to reach 100 % ee in a consecutive approach. Several lipases were screened in resolving the enantiomerically enriched 30 either in the enantioselective transesterification of (<5)-30 (45% ee) using isopropenyl acetate as an acyl donor in toluene in non-aqueous medium or in the enantioselective hydrolysis of the corresponding acetate (R)-31, (45% ee) using a phosphate buffer (pH = 6) in aqueous medium. An E value of 300 was observed and the reaction was terminated after 3 h yielding (<5)-30 > 99% ee and the ester (R)-31 was recovered with 86% ee determined by capillary GC after 50 % conversion. 

The kinetic resolution of racemic l-(benzofuran-2-yl)ethanol rac-33 having different substituents on the benzene was reported ring using lipase-catalyzed transesterification with vinyl acetate as acyl donor. The reaction afforded (lA)-l-acetoxy-l-(benzofuran-2-yl)ethanes (A)-34 and (16)-l-benzofuran-2-yl)ethanols (S)-33 in highly enantiopure form.65... 

Joly et al71 reported the use of Candida cylindracea lipase in the kinetic resolution of aryl-substituted /J-hydroxy ketones 44 using either the transeterification of the free /j-hydroxy ketone with vinyl acetate or the hydrolysis of its acetate. The transesterification mode afforded the alcohol with 30-70 % ee and the acetate with > 96% ee. That of hydrolysis afforded the alcohol with 64-93 % ee and the acetate with > 96% ee. 

While diketene remains a very important synthetic precursor, there has been increasing interest in the chemistry of a-methylene-/3-lactones, 3-methylene-2-oxetanones. However, unlike diketene, which can be readily synthesized by the dimerization of aldehydic ketenes, there are few methods for the synthesis of a-methylene-/3-lactones in the literature. Recent strategies for the preparation of the compounds are discussed in Section 2.05.9.2. The kinetic resolution of racemates of alkyl-substituted a-methylene-/3-lactones has been carried out via a lipase-catalyzed transesterification reaction with benzyl alcohol (Equation 21) <1997TA833>. The most efficient lipase tested for this reaction was CAL-B (from Candida antarctica), which selectively transesterifies the (A)-lactone. At 51% conversion, the (R)-f3-lactone, (R)-74, and (A)-/3-hydroxy ester, (S)-75, were formed in very high enantio-selectivities (up to 99% ee). 

Halldorsson, A., Thordarson, R, Kristinsson, B., Magnusson, C. D., and Haraldsson, G. G. 2004. Lipase-catalysed kinetic resolution of 1-O-alkylglycedrols by sequential transesterification. Tetrahedron Asymm., 15, 2893-2899. 

Acyloxygen fission (63 64), e.g., propiolactone reacts with MeOH, H+ to give 64 (Nu = OMe). A Pseudomonas sp. lipase-promoted asymmetric transesterification reaction allows kinetic resolution of racemic 2-oxetanones <2000J(PI)71>. 

Subsequently the groups of Williams [7] and Backvall [8] showed, in 1996 and 1997, respectively, that lipase-catalyzed transesterification of alcohols could be combined with transition metal-catalyzed racemization to produce an efficient dynamic kinetic resolution of chiral secondary alcohols (Fig. 9.2). 

Kinetic resolution of racemic dienal iron tricarbonyl complexes by reduction using baker s yeast has been developed. Porcine pancreatic lipase-catalyzed transesterification of hydroxymethyl-substituted complexes have also been used to kinetically resolve diene complexes (Scheme 127). 

Kinetic resolution of ferrocene derivatives, mainly alcohols, had an important place during the early stage of stereochemical investigations of ferrocene derivatives. The reaction of (partially) resolved ferrocenylalkyl alcohols and amines with racemic 2-phenylbutyric acid anhydride (Korean s method) was the basis for the configurational assignment before the establishment of structures by X-ray crystallography [41]. There has been some debate on the reliability of the method [62, 63], and additional chirality information seems necessary for certainty. Recently, the kinetic resolution of 1-ferrocenylethanol by transesterification with vinyl acetate, catalyzed by a lipase from PseudomonasJluorescens, led to an enantiomeric excess of 90—96% of both enantiomers [64], opening new preparative aspects. 

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. 

The lipase-catalysed enantioselective acylation of allylic alcohols in an ionic liquid solvent was demonstrated by Itoh et al. [16] (Fig. 7.7). They found that the acylation rate was strongly dependent on the counter anion of the imidazolium salt, while the lipase-catalysed acylation proceeded with high enantioseleclivity in all ionic liquid tested. Good results were obtained when the reaction was carried out in [bmimT [PFg ] or [bmun" ][BF ]. Other examples of kinetic resolution of allylic alcohols catalysed by lipases in ionic liquids were also reported by these authors [71, 72]. The transesterification of 5-phenyl-l-penten-3-ol under reduced pressure at 27 hPa and 40°C was carried out using methyl phenylthioacetate as acyl donor in [bmim+] [PF ] and [bdmim ][BF ], for obtaining the corresponding acylated compound in optically pure form [71], The acetylation of methyl mandelate catalysed by immobilised P5L in [bdmim ][BF ] is another example reported by these authors about the successful application of ionic liquids as reaction media in racemic resolutions... 

Different groups have studied the kinetic resolution of rac-l-phenylethanol by transesterification with vinyl acetate using lipases in ionic liquids as the reaction media [6,17,46] (Fig. 7.8). Schofer et al. [17] screened a set of nine lipases and two esterases for activity in ten different ionic liquids and compared the results with the reaction performed in methyl tert-butyl eter (MTBE) as the solvent. The lipases showed good activity and, in some cases, improved enantioseleclivity in these new reaction media. For example, the enantiomeric excess with PiL and AsL in [bmim ]... 

W Adam, M Diaz, R Fell, C Saha-Moller. Kinetic Resolution of Racemic a-Hydroxy Ketones by Lipase-catalyzed Irreversible Transesterification. Tetrahedron Asymmetry 7 2207-2210, 1996. 

Resolution by transesterification. Using vinylic acetates to esterify allyl alcohols, propargyl alcohols, 2-phenylthiocycloalkanols, a-hydroxy esters," methyl 5-hydroxy-2-hexenoates, and 2-substituted 1,3-propanediols, the enantioselective esterification provides a means of separation of optical isomers. Vinyl carbonates are also resolved by lipase-mediated enantioselective conversion to benzyl carbonates. Other esters that have also been used in the kinetic resolution include 2,2,2-tri-fluoroethyl propionate. There is a report on a double enantioselective transesterification" of racemic trifluoroethyl esters and cyclic meso-diols by lipase catalysis. 

Biochemical methods are of increasing importance for the large scale production of such chiral alcohols. Here only the kinetic resolution of 2-butanol 1, 2-octanol 2, and 1-phenylethanol 4 by transesterification with tributyrine. catalyzed by a lipase from Candida cylindracea10, will be mentioned. 

Of the six main classes of enzymes, hydrolases, oxidoreductases and transferases have been the three most useful in kinetic resolution. Among the hydrolases, lipases are extensively used. The molecular machinery of lipases consists of a catalytic triad of the amino acids serine, histidine, and aspartic (or glutamic) acid. The enzyme first transfers the acyl group of an ester to the hydroxyl group of the serine residue to form the acylated enzyme. The acyl group is subsequently transferred to an external nucleophile with the return of the enzyme to its pre-acylated state to start the process again. A variety of nucleophiles can participate in this process water results in hydrolysis, an amine results in amidation, an alcohol results in esterification or transesterification, and hydrogen peroxide results in the formation of perac-id. Another reason which favored the relatively wide applicability of lipases in enzymatic... 

Lipases and esterases are often used for the kinetic resolution of racemates either by hydrolysis, esterification or transesterification of suitable precursors. (Scheme 8-4) illustrates the principle for the resolution of secondary alcohols by esterification with vinyl acetate... 

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