Resolution racemic mixtures

Clearly, there is a need for techniques which provide access to enantiomerically pure compounds. There are a number of methods by which this goal can be achieved . One can start from naturally occurring enantiomerically pure compounds (the chiral pool). Alternatively, racemic mixtures can be separated via kinetic resolutions or via conversion into diastereomers which can be separated by crystallisation. Finally, enantiomerically pure compounds can be obtained through asymmetric synthesis. One possibility is the use of chiral auxiliaries derived from the chiral pool. The most elegant metliod, however, is enantioselective catalysis. In this method only a catalytic quantity of enantiomerically pure material suffices to convert achiral starting materials into, ideally, enantiomerically pure products. This approach has found application in a large number of organic... 

The separation of a racemic mixture into its enantiomeric components is termed resolution The first resolution that of tartaric acid was carried out by Louis Pasteur m 1848 Tartaric acid IS a byproduct of wine making and is almost always found as its dextrorotatory 2R 3R stereoisomer shown here m a perspective drawing and m a Fischer projection... 

One approach called enzymatic resolution, involves treating a racemic mixture with an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction of only one of the enantiomers Some of the most commonly used ones are lipases and esterases enzymes that catalyze the hydrol ysis of esters In a typical procedure one enantiomer of the acetate ester of a racemic alcohol undergoes hydrolysis and the other is left unchanged when hydrolyzed m the presence of an esterase from hog liver... 

Section 7 14 Resolution is the separation of a racemic mixture into its enantiomers It IS normally carried out by converting the mixture of enantiomers to a mixture of diastereomers separating the diastereomers then regenerating the enantiomers... 

Resolution (Section 7 14) Separation of a racemic mixture into Its enantiomers... 

A particular point of interest included in these hehcal complexes concerns the chirality. The heUcates obtained from the achiral strands are a racemic mixture of left- and right-handed double heUces (Fig. 34) (202). This special mode of recognition where homochiral supramolecular entities, as a consequence of homochiral self-recognition, result from racemic components is known as optical self-resolution (203). It appears in certain cases from racemic solutions or melts (spontaneous resolution) and is often quoted as one of the possible sources of optical resolution in the biological world. On the other hand, the more commonly found process of heterochiral self-recognition gives rise to a racemic supramolecular assembly of enantio pairs (204). 

Microorganisms and their enzymes have been used to functionalize nonactivated carbon atoms, to introduce centers of chirahty into optically inactive substrates, and to carry out optical resolutions of racemic mixtures (1,2,37—42). Their utifity results from the abiUty of the microbes to elaborate both constitutive and inducible enzymes that possess broad substrate specificities and also remarkable regio- and stereospecificities. 

In many cases only the racemic mixtures of a-amino acids can be obtained through chemical synthesis. Therefore, optical resolution (42) is indispensable to get the optically active L- or D-forms in the production of expensive or uncommon amino acids. The optical resolution of amino acids can be done in two general ways physical or chemical methods which apply the stereospecific properties of amino acids, and biological or enzymatic methods which are based on the characteristic behavior of amino acids in living cells in the presence of enzymes. 

Crystallization Method. Such methods as mechanical separation, preferential crystallisation, and substitution crystallisation procedures are included in this category. The preferential crystallisation method is the most popular. The general procedure is to inoculate a saturated solution of the racemic mixture with a seed of the desired enantiomer. Resolutions by this method have been reported for histidine (43), glutamic acid (44), DOPA (45), threonine (46), A/-acetyl phenylalanine (47), and others. In the case of glutamic acid, the method had been used for industrial manufacture (48). 

Because the starting materials were optically active, the products were all pure enantiomers. Later, the synthetic scheme shown in Figure 5 was developed (22,45). Resolution of the racemic mixture was accompHshed at the penultimate stage and the optically active D-threo-amine (7) was converted to florfenicol (2). This synthetic process also resulted in the synthesis of thiamphenicol shown in Figure 6 using 1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropyl diethylamine (FPA) (46). More recently an improved method of synthesis of florfenicol has been developed (17). 

Optically active thiiranes have been obtained by resolution of racemic mixtures by chiral tri-o-thymotide. The dextrorotatory thymotide prefers the (5,5)-enantiomer of 2,3-dimethylthiirane which forms a 2 1 host guest complex. A 30% enantiomeric excess of (5,5)-(—)-2,3-dimethylthiirane is obtained (80JA1157). 

The lipase from Pseudomonas sp. KIO has also been used to cleave the chloroacetate, resulting in resolution of a racemic mixture since only one enantiomer was cleaved. 

Synthetic chiral adsorbents are usually prepared by tethering a chiral molecule to a silica surface. The attachment to the silica is through alkylsiloxy bonds. A study which demonstrates the technique reports the resolution of a number of aromatic compoimds on a 1- to 8-g scale. The adsorbent is a silica that has been derivatized with a chiral reagent. Specifically, hydroxyl groups on the silica surface are covalently boimd to a derivative of f -phenylglycine. A medium-pressure chromatography apparatus is used. The racemic mixture is passed through the column, and, when resolution is successful, the separated enantiomers are isolated as completely resolved fiactions. Scheme 2.5 shows some other examples of chiral stationary phases. 

Four general methods have been used for obtaining chiral ligands resolution of a racemic mixture, use of a chiral naturally occurring product 33), and asymmetric homogeneous or heterogeneous hydrogenation. 

Most of the chiral membrane-assisted applications can be considered as a modality of liquid-liquid extraction, and will be discussed in the next section. However, it is worth mentioning here a device developed by Keurentjes et al., in which two miscible chiral liquids with opposing enantiomers of the chiral selector flow counter-currently through a column, separated by a nonmiscible liquid membrane [179]. In this case the selector molecules are located out of the liquid membrane and both enantiomers are needed. The system allows recovery of the two enantiomers of the racemic mixture to be separated. Thus, using dihexyltartrate and poly(lactic acid), the authors described the resolution of different drugs, such as norephedrine, salbu-tamol, terbutaline, ibuprofen or propranolol. 

A better solution for preparative columns is the development of separation media with substantially increased selectivities. This approach allows the use of shorter columns with smaller number of theoretical plates. Ultimately, it may even lead to a batch process in which one enantiomer is adsorbed selectively by the sorbent while the other remains in the solution and can be removed by filtration (single plate separation). Higher selectivities also allow overloading of the column. Therefore, much larger quantities of racemic mixtures can be separated in a single run, thus increasing the throughput of the separation unit. Operation under these overload conditions would not be possible on low selectivity columns without total loss of resolution. 

The most common method of resolution uses an acid-base reaction between a racemic mixture of chiral carboxylic acids (RC02H) and an amine base (RNH2) to yield an ammonium salt. 

To understand how this method of resolution works, let s see what happens when a racemic mixture of chiral acids, such as (+)- and (-)-lactic acids, reacts with an achiral amine base, such as methylamine, CH3NH2. Stereochemically, the situation is analogous to what happens when left and right hands (chiral) pick up a ball (achiral). Both left and right hands pick up the ball equally well, and the products—ball in right hand versus ball in left hand—are mirror images. In the same way, both ( H- and (-)-lactic acid react with methylamine equally... 

Resolution (Section 9.8) The process by which a racemic mixture is separated into its tw o pure enantiomers. 

A noteworthy feature of the Sharpless Asymmetric Epoxidation (SAE) is that kinetic resolution of racemic mixtures of chiral secondary allylic alcohols can be achieved, because the chiral catalyst reacts much faster with one enantiomer than with the other. A mixture of resolved product and resolved starting material results which can usually be separated chromatographically. Unfortunately, for reasons that are not yet fully understood, the AD is much less effective at kinetic resolution than the SAE. 

Before we leave the enzymatic modification of terpenoids, we should point out that enzymes are also employed to resolve racemic mixtures of terpenoids. The principles of Bus are similar to those employed in the resolution of racemic mixtures of amino acids (see Chapter 8). 

With this single example we have in tact described two uses of enzymes in alicyclic chemistry, the reduction of ketone groups and the resolution of racemic mixtures. 

Another route to enantiomcrically pure iron-acyl complexes depends on a resolution of diastereomeric substituted iron-alkyl complexes16,17. Reaction of enantiomerically pure chloromethyl menthyl ether (6) with the anion of 5 provides the menthyloxymethyl complex 7. Photolysis of 7 in the presence of triphenylphosphane induces migratory insertion of carbon monoxide to provide a racemic mixture of the diastereomeric phosphane-substituted menthyloxymethyl complexes (-)-(/ )-8 and ( + )-( )-8 which are resolved by fractional crystallization. Treatment of either diastereomer (—)-(/J)-8 or ( I )-(.V)-8 with gaseous hydrogen chloride (see also Houben-Weyl, Vol 13/9a, p437) affords the enantiomeric chloromethyl complexes (-)-(R)-9 or (+ )-(S)-9 without epimerization of the iron center. 

Racemic mixtures of sulfoxides have often been separated completely or partially into the enantiomers. Various resolution techniques have been used, but the most important method has been via diastereomeric salt formation. Recently, resolution via complex formation between sulfoxides and homochiral compounds has been demonstrated and will likely prove of increasing importance as a method of separating enantiomers. Preparative liquid chromatography on chiral columns may also prove increasingly important it already is very useful on an analytical scale for the determination of enantiomeric purity. 

Due to the inherent unsymmetric arene substitution pattern the benzannulation reaction creates a plane of chirality in the resulting tricarbonyl chromium complex, and - under achiral conditions - produces a racemic mixture of arene Cr(CO)3 complexes. Since the resolution of planar chiral arene chromium complexes can be rather tedious, diastereoselective benzannulation approaches towards optically pure planar chiral products appear highly attractive. This strategy requires the incorporation of chiral information into the starting materials which may be based on one of three options a stereogenic element can be introduced in the alkyne side chain, in the carbene carbon side chain or - most general and most attractive - in the heteroatom carbene side chain (Scheme 20). 

Finally, as an old example of kinetic resolution of racemic mixtures, mention must be made on the report of Kise and Tomiuchi on the significant effect of acetonitrile on the enantioselectivity of different proteases toward the kinetic resolution of aromatic amino acid ethyl esters (5-8). For instance, (l)-DOPA (8) was obtained with 99% ee in the presence of 90% v/v acetonitrile [9]. 

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