Phenylethylamine molecule synthesis

Following on from their previous work on the biomimetic synthesis of marine natural products, Steglich et al. proposed a biomimetic lamellarin synthesis in which an oxidative dimerization of an arylpyruvic acid and condensation of the resulting 1,4-dicarbonyl compound with a suitable 2-arylethylamine would be the key steps of the synthesis. Thus, the synthesis of lamellarin G trimethyl ether was achieved by coupling two molecules of 3-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)pyruvic acid and the appropriate 2-phenylethylamine <9579941, 97AG(E)155>. The use of a mixture of two different arylpyruvic acids afforded the unsymmetrical lamellarin L <00MI1147>. 

An enantioselective synthesis of amino acids has been examined using chiral nonracemic a-imino esters (36) derived from (S)-l-phenylethylamine and (-)-l-cyclohexylethylamine (equation 9, Table 9). Allyl-magnesium, -copper and -titanium reagents react at both the imine and ester carbon atoms of (36), a result of the molecule s ambient electrophilicity. The addition of allyl-, methallyl- and prenyl-9-BBN and -ZnBr to a-imino ester (36), however, generates amines (38) and (39). While the absolute stereochemistry of (38) and (39 R = Ph) has been determined (entries 1-4, Table 9), that of the cyclohexyl-ethylamine-derived products has not (entries 5-8, Table 9). 

Both the biosynthesis and chemical synthesis are based on a Mannich condensation of a -phenylethyl-amine derivative with a carbonyl component (Fig.). Depending on the latter, the substituent at Cl can be H-, CH3- or an isoprenoid residue. Several molecules of A. a. can be linked to form oligomers by phenol oxidation, as in pilocereine. As secondary alkaloids, cacti also produce derivatives of p-phenylethylamine, e. g. hordenine and mescaline. 

A narrow substrate spectrum has been described for tiie yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, making it a suitable biocatalyst only for molecules like methanol, ethanol, or in some cases acetone. Unfortunately the cofactor NADH is needed, which is regenerated by FDH (Scheme 29.6c). For the asymmetric synthesis of (S)-phenylethylamine with isopropylamine (IPA) as amino donor, acetone was converted to isopropyl alcohol catalyzed by YADH. The effectiveness of this method was compared to the reaction without YADH/FDH. A conversion yield of 99% was achieved with the YADH/FDH system while a conversion yield of 63-89% was obtained without YADH/FDH [69]. 

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