Racemic substrates

Quantitative Analysis of Selectivity. One of the principal synthetic values of enzymes stems from their unique enantioselectivity, ie, abihty to discriminate between enantiomers of a racemic pair. Detailed quantitative analysis of kinetic resolutions of enantiomers relating the extent of conversion of racemic substrate (c), enantiomeric excess (ee), and the enantiomeric ratio (E) has been described in an excellent series of articles (7,15,16). 

The reversibility of halohydrin dehalogenase-catalyzed reactions has been used for the regioselective epoxide-opening with nonnatural nucleophiles (an example is given in Scheme 10.34) [133]. The stereoselectivity of the enzyme results in the resolution of the racemic substrate. At the same time, the regioselectivity imposed by the active site geometry yields the anti-Markovnikov product. [128]... 

In this case study, an enzymatic hydrolysis reaction, the racemic ibuprofen ester, i.e. (R)-and (S)-ibuprofen esters in equimolar mixture, undergoes a kinetic resolution in a biphasic enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR). In kinetic resolution, the two enantiomers react at different rates lipase originated from Candida rugosa shows a greater stereopreference towards the (S)-enantiomer. The membrane module consisted of multiple bundles of polymeric hydrophilic hollow fibre. The membrane separated the two immiscible phases, i.e. organic in the shell side and aqueous in the lumen. Racemic substrate in the organic phase reacted with immobilised enzyme on the membrane where the hydrolysis reaction took place, and the product (S)-ibuprofen acid was extracted into the aqueous phase. 

This type of procedure is referred to as a kinetic resolution since the enantiomers of the racemic substrate exhibit different rates of reaction with the optically active compound, i.e. the diastereomeric transition states that arise from differences in e.g. non-bonded interactions have different free energies. Horeau and Nouaille (1966) estimate that a rate difference corresponding to A AG of the order of 0 2 cal mol at 25°C could in principle be revealed by this method. 

The enantioselectivity of biocatalytic reactions is normally expressed as the enantiomeric ratio or the E value [la], a biochemical constant intrinsic to each enzyme that, contrary to enantiomeric excess, is independent of the extent of conversion. In an enzymatic resolution of a racemic substrate, the E value can be considered equal to the ratio of the rates of reaction for the two enantiomers, when the conversion is close to zero. More precisely, the value is defined as the ratio between the specificity constants (k st/Ku) for tho two enantiomers and can be obtained by determination of the k<-at and Km of a given enzyme for the two individual enantiomers. 

As outlined above, enantioconvergent processes require two separate reaction pathways in order to transform a racemic substrate into a single product enantiomer. This is accomplished by employing a catalyst, which transforms one of the substrate enantiomers to the product with retention of configuration. Concurrently, another catalyst, with opposite enantioselectivity and opposite regioselectivity, transforms the other substrate enantiomer with inversion of configuration (Figure 5.24). 

A kinetic resolution depends on the fact that the two enantiomers of a racemic substrate react at different rates with the enzyme. The process is outlined in Figure 6.1, assuming that the (S) substrate is the fast-reacting enantiomer (ks > ka) and Kic = 0-In ideal cases, only one enantiomer is consumed and the reaction ceases at 50% conversion. In most cases, both enantiomers are transformed and the enantiomeric composition ofthe product and the remaining starting material varies with the extent... 

The classical kinetic resolution of racemic substrate precursors allows only access to a theoretical 50% yield of the chiral ladone product, while the antipodal starting material remains unchanged in enantiomerically pure form. The regioseledivity for the enzymatic oxidation correlates to the chemical readion with preferred and exclusive migration of the more nucleophilic center (usually the higher substituted a-carbon). The majority of cydoketone converting BVMOs (in particular CHMOAdneto)... 

R, S - enantiomers of a racemic substrate P, Q - enantiomers of a product Yieid Yieid ... 

Of the two former processes shown in Scheme 5.2, the kinetic resolution of race-mates has found a much greater number of applications than the desymmetrization of prochiral or meso compounds. This is due to the fact that racemic substrates are much more common than prochiral ones. However, kinetic resolution suffers from a number of drawbacks, the main being the following ... 

To avoid the problems shown above, a new approach has been developed. It is called deracemization and consists in the transformation of a racemic substrate into one enantiomer of the product. In other words, it means that one enantiomer of... 

Catalytic transformation based on combined enzyme and metal catalysis is described as a new class of methodology for the synthesis of enantiopure compounds. This approach is particularly useful for dynamic kinetic resolution in which enzymatic resolution is coupled with metal-catalyzed racemization for the conversion of a racemic substrate to a single enantiomeric product. 

The novel phenomenon of converting racemic substrates into a single enantiomer of the product hy dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) via racemization of the substrates has been a formidable challenge in asymmetric synthesis. Recently, DKR has been receiving increasing attention since it can overcome the limitations... 

Another approach to the synthesis of chiral non-racemic hydroxyalkyl sulfones used enzyme-catalysed kinetic resolution of racemic substrates. In the first attempt. Porcine pancreas lipase was applied to acylate racemic (3, y and 8-hydroxyalkyl sulfones using trichloroethyl butyrate. Although both enantiomers of the products could be obtained, their enantiomeric excesses were only low to moderate. Recently, we have found that a stereoselective acetylation of racemic p-hydroxyalkyl sulfones can be successfully carried out using several lipases, among which CAL-B and lipase PS (AMANO) proved most efficient. Moreover, application of a dynamic kinetic resolution procedure, in which lipase-promoted kinetic resolution was combined with a concomitant ruthenium-catalysed racem-ization of the substrates, gave the corresponding p-acetoxyalkyl sulfones 8 in yields... 

However, the most common and important method of synthesis of chiral non-racemic hydroxy phosphoryl compounds has been the resolution of racemic substrates via a hydrolytic enzyme-promoted acylation of the hydroxy group or hydrolysis of the 0-acyl derivatives, both carried out under kinetic resolution conditions. The first attempts date from the early 1990s and have since been followed by a number of papers describing the use of a variety of enzymes and various types of organophosphorus substrates, differing both by the substituents at phosphorus and by the kind of hydroxy (acetoxy)-containing side chain. 

The catalytic RCM and kinetic resolution can be carried out in a single vessel as well. This is particularly important for the practical utility of the Zr-catalyzed resolution Because the best theoretical yield in a classical resolution is 50%, it is imperative that the racemic substrate is prepared readily (or 50% material loss will be too costly). In this instance, the racemic substrate is not only obtained efficiently, it is synthesized in a catalytic manner and need not even be isolated prior to the resolution. Two representative examples are illustrated in Scheme 4 [5a]. The tandem catalytic RCM, leading to rac-19 and its subsequent catalytic resolution proceeds with excellent efficiency the one-vessel, two-stage process... 

Hydrogen transfer reactions are reversible, and recently this has been exploited extensively in racemization reactions in combination with kinetic resolutions of racemic alcohols. This resulted in dynamic kinetic resolutions, kinetic resolutions of 100% yield of the desired enantiopure compound [30]. The kinetic resolution is typically performed with an enzyme that converts one of the enantiomers of the racemic substrate and a hydrogen transfer catalyst that racemizes the remaining substrate (see also Scheme 20.31). Some 80 years after the first reports on transfer hydrogenations, these processes are well established in synthesis and are employed in ever-new fields of chemistry. 

In the kinetic resolution, the yield of desired optically active product cannot exceed 50% based on the racemic substrate, even if the chiral-discriminating ability of the chiral catalyst is extremely high. In order to obtain one diastereomer selectively, the conversion must be suppressed to less than 50%, while in order to obtain one enantiomer of the starting material selectively, a higher than 50% conversion is required. If the stereogenic center is labile in the racemic substrate, one can convert the substrate completely to gain almost 100% yield of the diastereomer formation by utilizing dynamic stereomutation. 

In the hydrogenation of cyclic / -keto esters (ketones substituted with an al-koxycarbonyl moiety), Ru(II)-binap reduced a racemic substrate in DCM with high anti-diastereoselectivity to give a 99 1 mixture of the trans-hydroxy ester (92% ee) and the ds-hydroxy ester (92% ee), quantitatively [Eq. (18)] [119, 120]. 

One active field of research involving the Heck reaction is asymmetric Heck reactions (AHR). The objective is to achieve enantiomerically-enriched Heck products from racemic substrates using a catalytic amount of chiral ligands, making the process more practical and economical Although intermolecular Heck reactions that occurred onto carbocyclic arenes are rare, they readily take place onto many heterocycles including thiophenes, furans, thiazoles, oxazoles,... 

The kinetic resolution of racemic substrate with CPDMO reaction was stopped at 50 % conversion and immediately extracted with ethyl acetate. Combined extracts were washed once with brine and dried with anhydrous Na2S04. 

In an ideal kinetic resolution (common in enzyme-catalyzed processes), one enantiomer of a racemic substrate is converted tvhile the other is unreactive [70]. In such a kinetic resolution of 5-methyl-2-cyclohexenone, even with 1 equivalent of Me2Zn, the reaction should virtually stop after 50% conversion. This near perfect situation is found with ligand 18 (Fig. 7.10) [71]. Kinetic resolutions of 4-methyl-2-cyclohexenone proceed less selectively (s = 10-27), as might be expected from the lower trans selectivity in 1,4-additions to 4-substituted 2-cyclohexenones [69]. 

Obviously with the indan-l,2-diol substrates there is no symmetrical meso intermediate which makes interpretation of the mechanism more difficult. In both the cyclohexan-l,2-diol and the indan-l,2-diol series the trans diols react faster and cis diols (both enantiomers for indandiol) are seen as intermediates. The (IS,2R) cis indandiol 29 is faster reacting and on incubation of the racemate only a very small trace of the R,R)-trans 28 isomer is observed. 2-Hydroxyin-dan-1 -one 30, an observed intermediate in these biotransformations, undergoes kinetic resolution when incubated as a racemic substrate. The faster reacting enantiomer is reduced to the faster reacting cis (lS,2i )-indan-l,2-diol 29 which is subsequently transformed into both trans diols and ultimately the (S,S)-iso-mer. Current work is focussing on determining the absolute configuration of the intermediate a-hydroxyketone 30. 

The reasons for the increasing acceptance of enzymes as reagents rest on the advantages gained from utilizing them in organic synthesis Isolated or wholecell enzymes are efficient catalysts under mild conditions. Since enzymes are chiral materials, optically active molecules may be produced from prochiral or racemic substrates by catalytic asymmetric induction or kinetic resolution. Moreover, these biocatalysts may perform transformations, which are difficult to emulate by transition-metal catalysts, and they are environmentally more acceptable than metal complexes. 

The influence of stereocenters in the backbone has been investigated [74]. A racemic substrate 101 can be subjected to standard Stetter reaction conditions leading to disubstituted cyclopentanones 102. The reaction provides both cis and trans diastereomers in high enantiomeric excess but with very poor diastereoselectivity (Table 10). Adding steric bulk did not significantly change the outcome of the reaction (entry 2). The same trend was observed with substitution at the... 

Several of the reactions mentioned in this chapter proved to be successful for diastere-omerically pure but racemic substrates 355. No reason is seen why racemization or epimerization should occur and therefore application to optically active substrates is possible without expecting difficulties. Of course, one must take into account sensitive functional groups, eventually being present in the residues R and R. ... 

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