Biocatalytic synthesis towards both antipodes of 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanitrile a precursor to fluoxetine, atomoxetine and nisoxetine

The bakers’ yeast reduction of 3-oxo-3-phenylpropanenitrile (1) has been difficult to achieve due to a dominant alkylating mechanism. A library of 20 bakers’ yeast reductases, that are overexpressed in Escherichia coli, were screened against (1). Four enzymes were found to reduce this substrate and by varying the enzyme both enantiomers of 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanitrile (2) could be prepared with a high enantiomeric excess. In addition, the Escherichia coli whole-cell system can be optimized to nearly eliminate the competing alkylating mechanism. By using this system, a formal biocatalytic synthesis of both antipodes of fluoxetine, atomoxetine and nisoxetine has been demonstrated.     

Chemoenzymatic asymmetric synthesis of harzia lactone A stereomers

A facile chemoenzymatic synthesis of the harzia lactone A enantiomers was developed. A lipase-catalyzed acylation and an enantio-controlled substrate and reagent-controlled Sharpless’ asymmetric dihydroxylation are the key features of the synthesis.     

Concise enantioselective synthesis of duloxetine via direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction of thioamide

Direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction of thioamide offers a new entry to the concise enantioselective synthesis of duloxetine. The direct aldol protocol was scalable (>20 g) to afford the aldol product in 92% ee after LiAlH(4) reduction, and 84% of the chiral ligand was recovered after recrystallization. The following four steps of transformation delivered duloxetine.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of isogalactofagomine

A new chemoenzymatic synthesis of optically pure isogalactofagomine 2 starting from achiral starting materials is presented. Dimethyl 4-hydroxypyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate (7) was synthesized and converted to the corresponding saturated piperidine 8. Then the key step of the synthesis was carried out: Lipase M catalyzed hydrolysis of the prochiral diester 8 to cause formation of an asymmetric monoacid with at least 98% enantiomeric excess. Reduction of the acid, saponification of the remaining ester, and radical iododecarboxylation gave an iodide that after substitution with silver trifluoroacetate and hydrolysis gave 2.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of duloxetine and its enantiomer: lipase-catalyzed resolution of 3-hydroxy-3-(2-thienyl) propanenitrile

An efficient and facile chemoenzymatic synthesis of duloxetine by lipase mediated resolution of 3-hydroxy-3-(2-thienyl)propanenitrile has been achieved. This process also describes an enantioconvergent synthesis of duloxetine via a Mitsunobu reaction.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of piperoxan,prosympal, dibozane,and doxazosin

The synthesis of both enantiomers of 1,4-benzodioxan-2-carboxylic acid 1, a key synthetic intermediate for the therapeutic agents piperoxan, prosympal, dibozane, and doxazosin was achieved with good yields and high enantioselectivities via the Arthrobacter sp. lipase catalyzed kinetic resolution of ester (±)-17a. The influence of the co-solvents and the immobilization of the lipase upon kinetic resolution demonstrated that immobilized whole cells, in the presence of n-butanol as a co-solvent, resulted in the optimal resolution of the substrate (ee ～99%, E = 535) at 258 mmol (50 g/L) substrate concentration.     

Chemoenzymatic asymmetric synthesis of optically active pentane-1,5-diamine fragments by means of lipase-catalyzed desymmetrization transformations

A novel family of prochiral pentane-1,5-diamines has been efficiently synthesized, possessing stabilities significantly higher than those of corresponding propane-1,3-diamine analogues. Diamines have been later desymmetrized using Pseudomonas cepacia lipase as an efficient biocatalyst for the mono- but also stereoselective protection of one of their amino groups. Reaction parameters such as type and loading of enzyme, temperature, solvent, and acyl donor have been exhaustively analyzed, searching for optimal conditions for the production of interesting optically active nitrogenated compounds. Thus, acylation and alkoxycarbonylation processes have been compared in terms of conversion and enantiomeric excess values. The best results were found in the reaction of prochiral diamines with ethyl methoxyacetate as acyl donor and 1,4-dioxane as solvent, yielding (S)-monoamides in 33-59% isolated yield and 54-99% ee, depending on the aromatic pattern substitution.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of phosphocarnitine enantiomers

Racemic phosphocarnitine 3 has been synthesized starting from diethyl 3-chloro-2-oxopropanephosphonate 4 in three steps involving reduction of 4 to the corresponding 2-hydroxyphosphonate 5, conversion of the latter to phosphonic acid 6, and final reaction with trimethylamine, affording the trimethylammonium salt of 3. Baker's yeast reduction of 4 and enzymatic kinetic resolution of (+/-)-5 afforded the enantiomerically pure precursors of phosphocarnitine, (R)-(+)-5 and (S)-(-)-5, which were converted to (S)-(-)- and (R)-(+)-phosphocarnitine 3, respectively.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of conduritol analogues

Several conduritol and conduramine analogues have been synthesized from β-substituted naphthalenes via a chemoenzymatic approach, in a high regio- and stereocontrolled way.     

Chemoenzymatic total synthesis of stagonolide-E

Asymmetric total synthesis of small ring macrolide stagonolide-E has been described in this communication. The main highlight of our synthetic strategy is the application of ME-DKR (metal enzyme combo dynamic kinetic resolution) reaction, asymmetric reduction with Noyori’s BINAL-H reagent system, stereoselective cross metathesis, and RCM (ring closing metathesis) reaction at a late stage enables us to achieve the synthesis of the target molecule in an efficient way.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of sialyl-trimeric-Lewis x

The decasaccharide sialyl-trimeric-Lewis x is a component of glycoproteins and glycolipids that serve as E- and P-selectin ligands. The synthesis of this target structure was accomplished by utilizing a combination of chemical and enzymatic methods. Highlights of the chemical synthesis include minimal use of protecting groups and regioselective glycosylations to arrive at a linear tri-lactosamine structure. Glycosyltransferase-catalyzed reactions were then employed for the addition of the terminal sialic acid and branch-point fucose residues. Notably, fucosyltransferases V and VI showed different specificities for the sialyl-tri-lactosamine core structure.     

Synthesis of antidepressant duloxetine via asymmetric transfer hydrogenation

Antidepressant duloxetine （1） was prepared via asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of 3-（dimethylamino）-1-（thiophen-2- yl）propan-1-one （3）. The Ru（Ⅱ）, Rh（Ⅲ） and Ir（Ⅲ） complexes of several chiral ligands were examined as the catalyst and （S,S）-N-tosyl-1,2-diphenyl ethylenediamine （TsDPEN）-Ru（Ⅱ） complex was found to provide good yield and excellent enantioselectivity. 2007 Ming Yan. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of the calcimimetics (+)-NPS R-568 via asymmetric reductive acylation of ketoxime intermediate

A practical and efficient procedure for the synthesis of a potent calcimimetic (+)-NPS R-568 was developed. This procedure includes as the key step the asymmetric reductive acylation of a ketoxime intermediate catalyzed by a Pd nanocatalyst and a lipase in combination. The target compound was prepared from commercially available 3′-methoxyacetophenone via five steps in overall 63% yield.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of enantiomerically enriched kavalactones

Lipase-mediated kinetic resolution of methyl-3-hydroxy-5-phenylpentanoate and (6E)-ethyl 5-hydroxy-3-oxo-7-phenylhept-6-enoate is described in high enantiomeric excess and good yields. The effect of different lipases in different solvents has been screened using different acylating agents. This protocol has been extended for the preparation of enantiomerically pure biologically important kavalactones.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of carbasugars from iodobenzene

The versatile enantiopure cis-dihydrodiol metabolite 1, formed by bacterial metabolism of iodobenzene, has been used for the synthesis of the pyranose carbasugars (pseudosugars) carba-beta-D-altropyranose 2, carba-alpha-L-galactopyranose 3, carba-beta-D-idopyranose 4 and carba-beta-L-glucopyranose 5. Substitution of the iodine atom by a carbomethoxy group, stereoselective catalytic hydrogenation of an alpha,beta-unsaturated ester, and regioselective inversion of one or two allylic chiral centres are the key steps used in the synthesis of carbasugars 2-5. The relative and absolute configurations of compounds 2-5 were established by a combination of stereochemical correlation, X-ray crystallography and 1H-NMR spectroscopy.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of sacranosides a and B

Direct beta-glucosidation between (-)-myrtenol and nerol and D-glucose (3) using the immobilized beta-glucosidase from almonds with the synthetic prepolymer ENTP-4000 gave myrtenyl O-beta-D-glucoside (4) and neryl O-beta-D-glucoside (10), respectively. The coupling of the myrtenyl or neryl O-beta-D-glucopyranoside congeners (7 or 13) and 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-beta-L-arabinopyranosyl bromide (8) afforded the coupled products (9 or 14), respectively. Deprotection of the coupled products (9 or 14) afforded the synthetic myrtenyl 6-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside (Sacranoside A, 1) or neryl 6-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside (Sacranoside B, 2), respectively.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of discotic liquid crystals

Abstract

Acylations at the 6-position of alkyl glycosides were obtained using the esterification potential of lipases. Thus, sugars with two alkyl chains result showing columnar discotic phases. The correlation between the configuration of the sugar moieties and the different clearing points can be understood on the basis of simple stereochemical assumptions.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of ketomethylene tripeptide isosteres

A chemoenzymatic method is described for the synthesis of a desired ketomethylene tripeptide isostere. The key step is an enzymatic hydrolysis, which removes the C-terminal ester-protecting group under mild conditions without epimerizing the existing stereogenic center and produces the desired stereoisomer in high enantiomeric excess (98% de, 97% ee). The method is short with overall 15–20% yields after seven synthetic steps from readily available starting materials being obtained.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of azacycloalkan-3-ols

Optically active ω-bromocyanohydrins are easily synthesized through an enantioselective (R)-oxynitrilase-catalyzed reaction from their corresponding ω-bromoaldehydes. These cyanohydrins are starting materials for the preparation of medium size nitrogen heterocycles. The reduction of (R)-(+)-5-bromo-2-hydroxypentanenitrile affords, in one-pot, piperidin-3-ol. Azepan-3-ol and azocan-3-ol are readily obtained from their corresponding cyanohydrins in high enantiomeric excesses.