L- — -menthol

L-Menthol [2216-51-5] (75) and D-menthol [15356-70-4] have been used as chiral auxiharies in the synthesis of optically active mandehc acids. Reduction of (-)-menthol ben2oylfomiate (76) with a stericaHy bulky reducing agent, ie, sodium bis(2-methylethoxy)aluminum hydride (RED-Al), followed by saponification, yields (R)-mandelic acid (32) of 90% ee. 

You probably came up with the suggestion that by using an esterase which selectively hydrolyses the succinate ester of L-menthol, you would be able to isolate L-menthol from the mixture. This is in essence the way the process is carried out commercially. We can represent this process by ... 

DL-menthyl succinate L - specific L-menthol + D-menthyl succinate... 

The resolution of DL-menthol is important industrially. L-Menthol has a mint taste and gives a cooling sensation. It finds use in a number of important products including toothpaste and confectionary. D-Menthol does not have the same taste nor the same cooling properties. DL-menthol can be produced relatively simply using a variety of chemical routes. 

Candida cylindricae produces a lipase which will esterify L-menthol using 5-phenyl valeric add. 

Explain how this enzyme may be used to resolve a racemic mixture of DL-menthol. Assume you want to prepare both D-menthol and L-menthol. 

The way to achieve resolution is to use the lipase to selectively esterify the L-menthol. 

The L-menthol could be recovered by hydrolysing the L-menthyl-5-phenylvalerate. You might anticipate using an esterase to carry out this hydrolysis such as the enzyme from Rhodotorula minuta described in the text. 

The 0-silylation reaction of alcohols is important as a protection method of hydroxyl groups. 0-Silylations of liquid or crystalline alcohols with liquid or crystalline silyl chlorides were found to be possible in the solid state. For example, when a mixture of powdered L-menthol (26), ferf-butyldimethylsilyl chloride (27), and imidazole (28) was kept at 60 °C for 5 h, 0-tert-butyldi-methylsilyl L-menthol (29) was obtained in 97% yield [8] (Scheme 4). Similar treatments of 26 with the liquid silyl chlorides, trimethyl- (30a) and triethylsilyl chloride (30b), gave the corresponding 0-silylation products 31a (89%) and 31b (89%), respectively, in the yields indicated [8] (Scheme 4). However, 0-silylation of triisopropyl- (30c) and triphenylsilyl chloride (30d) proceeded with difficultly even at 120 °C and gave 31c (57%) and 31d (70%), respectively, in relatively low yields. Nevertheless, when the solvent-free silylation reactions at 120 °C were carried out using two equivalents of 30c and 30d, 31c (77%) and 31d (99%) were obtained, respectively, in relatively high yields. 

Isomerization is a frequent side-reaction of catalytic transformations of olefins, however, it can be a very useful synthetic method, as well. One of the best-known examples is the enantioselective allylamine enamine isomerization catalyzed by [Rh (jR)-or(S)-BINAP (COD)] which is the crucial step in the industrial synthesis of L-menthol by Takasago [42]... 

An early example of an MIP-QCM sensor was a glucose monitoring system by Malitesta et al. (1999). A glucose imprinted poly(o-phenylenediamine) polymer was electrosynthesized on the sensor surface. This QCM sensor showed selectivity for glucose over other compounds such as ascorbic acid, paracetamol, cysteine, and fructose at physiologically relevant millimolar concentrations. A unique QCM sensor for detection of yeast was reported by Dickert and coworkers (Dickert et al. 2001 Dickert and Hayden 2002). Yeast cells were imprinted in a sol-gel matrix on the surface of the transducer. The MIP-coated sensor was able to measure yeast cell concentrations in situ and in complex media. A QCM sensor coated with a thin permeable MIP film was developed for the determination of L-menthol in the liquid phase (Percival et al. 2001). The MIP-QCM sensor displayed good selectivity and good sensitivity with a detection limit of 200 ppb (Fig. 15.7). The sensor also displayed excellent enantioselectivity and was able to easily differentiate the l- and D-enantiomers of menthol. 

Figure 15.7 Response of the molecular imprinted polymer quartz crystal microbalance (MIP-QCM) sensor to monoterpene analogues ( ) L-menthol, (A) D-menthol, ( ) citronel-lol, (A) citronellal, and (O) menthone. Reprinted from Percival et al. (2001). Copyright 2001 American Chemical Society.

D,L-Menthol is separated from the mixture by distillation, then converted into the benzoate which is resolved by crystallization with entrainment (see Section 2.1.). The mother liquor and the unnatural diastereomers are recycled by dehydrogenation3. 

Japanese mint Mentha canadensis L. (-)-Menthol (about 70)... 

Alkylation of m-cresol with propene in the presence of an aluminium catalyst results in the formation of thymol, which upon hydrogenation gives a rnkture of all eight isomers of menthol, D-menthol, L-menthol, neomenthol, isomenthol and neoisomenthol (Scheme 13.3). The preferred isomer is L-menthol, because of its ability to induce physiologically the sense of cold which is desired in many products such as chewing gum and toothpaste L-menthol is about... 

The enantioselective hydrolysis of racemic menthyl benzoate (industrially key compound) by recombinant Candida rugosa lipase LIPl leads to optically pure l-(-)-menthol ee>99% [21]. This pathway is part of a menthol synthesis developed by the flavour industry. 

Mentha spicata L. M. x piperita L. Menthol, menthone, isomenthone, pinene, myrcene, limonene, cineole, cymene, terpinene, carvone, luteolin."-100-107-130 Carminative, stomachic, mild antispasmodic, expectorant, antiseptic, and local anesthetic properties. 

To our knowledge, the first examples of asymmetrically substituted monocyclic phosphoranes are 60 and 61, described by Moriarty et al.135 and involving the reaction of a substituted o-benzoquinone136,137 (Scheme 6) on an aminophosphine (59), itself obtained by alcoholysis of 58 with l-( — )-menthol. In contrast to the amino phosphine 53 (Scheme 5), 59 is a mixture of the diastereoisomers 59a and b, and its reaction with 3,5-di-tert-butyl-l,2-benzoquinone yields two diastereoisomeric phosphoranes, 60a and b. Finally, alcoholysis of the P(V)—NR2 bond138 in 60a and b leads to 61a and b or 62. 

Durch Polymerisation eines optisch aktiven Lactams gelangten Imoto u. Mitarb. (100) zu einem optisch aktiven Polyamid. Oxydation von L-Menthol zum Menthon und Umlagerung des Oxims fuhrte zum 4-Methyl-7-isopropyl-2-oxohexamethylenimin (LXIII) ... 

Chiral crotonates derived from S-citroncllol, l-(—)-menthol, and S-solketol undergo 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with cyclic and acyclic nitrones.66 Asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of optically active hifluoromethylated a, /l-unsaturated aiyl sulfones (43) with nitrones yield the corresponding isoxazolidmes (44) and (45) with high regio- and... 

L-(-)-menthol is responsible for peppermint flavor. The classic source of menthol is peppermint oil but the supply is insufficient to satisfy today s demand of about 4000 tpy worldwide. Besides the food industry (tea additive, sweets) the main customer is the tobacco industry peppermint-flavored cigarettes are very popular in several countries, most notably in southeast Asia (kretek in Indonesia). 

Three processes have been developed for L-(-)-menthol, which has three asymmetric centers (i) separation of diastereomeric salt pairs (ii) homogeneous catalysis with Rh-BINAP and (iii) lipase resolution of menthol benzoates. 

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