Production of C4 Chiral Synthetic Units

C4 chiral synthetic units are also important for the syntheses of pharmaceuticals and their intermediates. For example, optically active 4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyrate (CHB) and 4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyronitrile (BN) are key compounds as C4 chiral building blocks for the syntheses of L-carnitine [16], l-GABOB [17], / -hydroxybuty-ric acid, 3-hydroxy-y-butyrolactone, and 4-hydroxy-2-pyrrolidone. Recently, CHB has been reported as being used for synthesizing an intermediate for HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor for hyperlipidemia (Fig. 11) [18]. 

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The study and development of microbial methods for the industrial-scale production of C3 and C4 chiral synthetic units such as 2,3-dichloro-l-propanol (DCP), epichloro-hydrin (EP), 3-chloro-l,2-propanediol (CPD), glycidol (GLD), 4-chloro-3-hydroxy-butyrate (CHB), 3-hydroxy-y-butyrolactone (HL) is described. The following points are emphasized overall strategy screening, isolation, and cultivation of bacteria control of fermentation reactions and transfer from lab- to production-scale. 

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