The effect of vinyl esters on the enantioselectivity of the lipase-catalysed transesterification of alcohols

The enantioselectivity of the lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia (PCL) in the transesterification of 2-phenyl-1-propanol 1 was studied using a series of vinyl 3-arylpropanoates as acyl donors. The most enantioselective transesterification reaction of the alcohol was attained by using vinyl 3-(p-iodophenyl)- or 3-(p-trifluoromethylphenyl)propanoates, with enantiomer ratios, E, of 116 and 138, respectively. Vinyl 3-phenylpropanoate was also effective for the resolution of 1 mediated by lipases from P. fluorescens and porcine pancreas and for the PCL-catalysed transesterification of several 2-phenyl-1-alkanols. The enantiomeric resolution of 1 was practically carried out by the first enantioselective transesterification using PCL and vinyl 3-(p-iodophenyl)propanoate to afford (R)-1 and then the enantioselective hydrolysis of the resultant ester to afford (S)-1.     

Activation of pig liver esterase in organic media with organic polymers: application to the enantioselective acylation of racemic functionalized secondary alcohols

Pig liver esterase (PLE) shows practically no activity in acylation of alcohols with vinylic esters in organic solvents. However, addition of methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG), bovine serum albumin (BSA), TentaGelAmino resin (TGA), or aminomethyl polystyrene (AMPS) confers activity to PLE in acylation of alcohols with vinyl propionate in organic solvents of low water content. Polymer-activated PLE showed high enantioselectivities (E > 100) in the acylation of racemic 1-alkoxy-, 1-ethylsulfanyl-, and 1-fluoro-3-aryl-2-propanols as well as racemic 1-phenoxy-2-propanol and racemic 1-methoxy-2-phenoxy-2-propanol. The synthetic utility of polymer-activated PLE has been demonstrated by the gram-scale resolution of 1-methoxy-3-phenyl-2-propanol, 1-ethylsulfanyl-3-phenyl-2-propanol, 1-methoxy-3-p-methoxyphenyl-2-propanol, 1-fluoro-3-phenyl-2-propanol, and 1-methoxy-3-phenoxy-2-propanol. In PLE-catalyzed acylation of alcohols with vinyl propionate, acetaldehyde and propionic acids, both being detrimental to the enzyme, are formed as byproducts. In addition, the water content of the system, which is critical for the activity of pig liver esterase, is lowered because of a competing enzymatic hydrolysis of the acyl donor. The polymers TGA, BSA, and AMPS not only scavenge the aldehyde and the acid through imine formation and neutralization, respectively, but replenish at least in part also the water consumed in the competing hydrolysis of the acyl donor. A recovery of PLE together with the polymer was achieved without major loss of activity through their immobilization on a water-saturated polyaramide membrane, which occurs spontaneously in organic solvents.     

Highly enantioselective kinetic resolution of primary alcohols of the type Ph-X-CH(CH3)-CH2OH by Pseudomonas cepacia lipase: effect of acyl chain length and solvent

Although lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia (PCL) shows high enantioselectivity towards many secondary alcohols, it usually exhibits only low to moderate enantioselectivity towards primary alcohols. To increase this enantioselectivity, we optimised the reaction conditions for the PCL-catalysed hydrolysis of esters of three chiral primary alcohols: 2-methyl-3-phenyl-1-propanol 1, 2-phenoxy-1-propanol 2 and solketal 3. The enantioselectivity towards 1-acetate increased from E=16 to 38 upon changing the solvent from ethyl ether/phosphate buffer to 30% n-propanol in phosphate buffer and increased again to E ≥190 upon changing the substrate from 1-acetate to 1-heptanoate. The same changes increased the enantioselectivity towards alcohol 2 from E=17 to 70, but did not significantly increase the enantioselectivity towards alcohol 3. The best solvent was similar to the solvent used to crystallise the open form of PCL and likely stabilises the open form of PCL. This stabilisation may increase the enantioselectivity by removing kinetic contributions from a non-enantioselective lid-opening step. We determined the kinetic contribution of the lid-opening step by measuring the interfacial activation of PCL. The activation energy for the PCL-catalysed hydrolysis of ethyl acetate was at least 2.6 kcal/mol lower in the presence of a water–organic solvent interface.     

Resolution of 2-aryloxy-1-propanols via lipase-catalyzed enantioselective acylation in organic media

2-Aryloxy-1-propanols, primary alcohols with an oxygen atom at the stereocenter, were resolved with good to high enantioselectivity by acylation with vinyl butanoate mediated by Pseudomonas sp. lipase in di-iso-propyl ether. Potential factors affecting the enantioselectivity of the enzymatic acylation were examined: solvents, acyl donors and temperature. Using this enantioselective acylation procedure, enantiomerically pure (R)-2-(4-chlorophenoxy)-1-propanol was prepared on a gram scale.     

Lipophilic Tartaric Acid Esters as Enantioselective Ionophores

Tartaric acid esters with lipophilic alcohol moieties can discriminate between enantiomeric ammonium ions such as norephedrinium ions. Quantitative results were obtained by partitioning the components between water and 1, 2-dichloroethane. The stereoselectivity was characterized by the free energy difference of the partition process (ΔΔG). Diamond-lattice sectors were used to construct models of the (unstable) lipophilic ester/ammonium salt complexes from X-ray structures of the individual components (esters and ammonium salts). These models can be used to interpret the effect of structure and configuration of the alcohol moiety on the stereoselectivity and enantioselectivity towards 1-phenyl-2-amino-1-propanol (norephedrine) salts.     

Chiral ligands derived from abrine. Part 7: Effect of O,S, N in aromatic ring substituents at C-1 on enantioselectivity induced by tetrahydro-β-carboline ligands in diethylzinc addition to aldehydes

The effect of O, S and N atoms in aromatic ring substituents at C-1 position of tetrahydro-β-carboline ligands on the enantioselectivity of diethylzinc additions to benzaldehyde was studied when esters or tertiary alcohol functions were present at C-3. A mechanism is proposed to explain why the ester ligands 2c and 2d, in which the pyridyl N atom is at C′-2 in 2c and at C′-3 in 2d, catalyzed the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde to form the (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of 1-phenyl-1-propanol, respectively. An explanation was also proposed for the moderate enantioselectivity induced by tert-alcohol 3c versus the very small enantioselectivity induced by 3d, containing a 3-pyridyl function at C-1, during diethylzinc additions. A -CH₂-t-Bu substituent at C-1 leads to very high enantioselectivities.     

Poly(ethylene glycol)-lipase complexes that are highly active and enantioselective in ionic liquids

Lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis between vinyl acetate and 2-phenyl-1-propanol was investigated in dialkylimidazolium-based ionic liquids. Although native lipase powder exhibited very low activity in an ionic liquid, forming a poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG)-lipase complex improved the lipase activity in the ionic liquid. The activity of the PEG-lipase complex was higher in ionic liquids than in common organic solvents (n-hexane, isooctane and dimethylsulfoxide). Fluorescence measurements using 4-aminophthalimide revealed that the ionic liquids were more hydrophilic than the organic solvents used for non-aqueous enzymology. A kinetic study of lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis in an ionic liquid ([Bmim][PF6]) revealed that the Michaelis constant (Km) for 2-phenyl-1-propanol in the ionic liquid was half that in n-hexane, suggesting that the ionic liquid stabilized the enzyme-substrate complex. Finally, we carried out enantioselective alcoholysis of 1-phenylethanol in ionic liquids employing the PEG-lipase complex, and obtained high enantioselectivity, comparable to that in n-hexane.     

Immobilization does not influence the enantioselectivity of CAL-B catalyzed kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols

Decreasing enantioselectivity (E-value) by increasing conversion has been observed in transesterification reactions of secondary alcohols catalyzed by a pure protein formulation of lipase B from Candida antarctica (Novozym 525 F). Addition of a range of enantiopure alcohols caused a temporary increase in selectivity of the transesterification reaction of 3-chloro-1-phenoxy-2-propanol with vinyl butanoate. The corresponding immobilized lipase B, (Novozym 435) showed a similar relationship between the E-value and degree of conversion.     

5-Hydroxy-3-phenyl-5-vinyl-2-isoxazoline and 3-phenyl-5-vinylisoxazole: synthesis and reactivity

5-Hydroxy-3-phenyl-5-vinyl-2-isoxazoline has been synthesized by reacting benzonitrile oxide with the enolate ion of methyl vinyl ketone. From 5-hydroxy-5-vinyl-2-isoxazoline, 5-vinylisoxazole was then quantitatively obtained by dehydration-aromatization under acidic conditions. Similar results, though not quantitative, were also found by treatment in 2-propanol under basic conditions (i-PrOH/H₂O, Na₂CO₃, reflux). In contrast to 2-propanol, reactions performed in methanol (and, in part, those carried out in ethanol) revealed a more complex behaviour, the nucleophilic addition of ROH onto the vinyl group being mainly observed. Nucleophilic addition was also found with alkyllithiums. The mechanism of the nucleophilic addition is discussed. Epoxidation and further reaction with benzonitrile oxide of both 3-hydroxy-5-phenyl-5-vinyl-2-isoxazoline and 3-phenyl-5-vinylisoxazole are also described.     

Kinetic resolution of 5-(hydroxymethyl)-3-phenyl-2-isoxazoline by using the ‘low-temperature method’ with porous ceramic-immobilized lipase

A significant enhancement of the enantioselectivity (E value = 249) in the lipase-catalyzed resolution of a primary alcohol, racemic 5-(hydroxymethyl)-3-phenyl-2-isoxazoline (±)-1, was obtained by using the ‘low-temperature method’ (−60 °C) with porous ceramic-immobilized lipase (Amano PS-C II) and vinyl acetate in acetone.     

Resolution of non-protein amino acids via the microbial protease-catalyzed enantioselective hydrolysis of their N-unprotected esters

In the Aspergillus oryzae protease-catalyzed ester hydrolysis, substitution of N-unprotected amino acid esters for the corresponding N-protected amino acid esters resulted in a large enhancement of the hydrolysis rate, while the enantioselectivity was deteriorated strikingly when the substrates employed were the conventional methyl esters. This difficulty was overcome by employing esters bearing a longer alkyl chain such as the isobutyl ester. Utilizing this ester, amino acids carrying an aromatic side chain were resolved with excellent enantioselectivities (E=50 to >200). With amino acids bearing an aliphatic side chain also, good results in terms of the hydrolysis rate and enantioselectivity were obtained by employing such an ester as the isobutyl ester. Moreover, the enantioselectivity proved to be enhanced further by conducting the reaction at low temperature. This procedure was applicable to the case where the enantioselectivity was not high enough even by the use of the isobutyl ester.     

Enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes catalyzed by monosubstituted [2.2]paracyclophane-based N,O-ligands: remarkable cooperative effects of planar and central chiralities

Diastereomeric monosubstituted [2.2]paracyclophane-based N,O-ligands, which unite the planar and central chiral elements, were optimized for the enantioselective diethylzinc addition to aldehydes. (S)-1-{(S_p)-[2.2]Paracyclophan-4-yl}methyl-2-pyrrolidine-α,α-diphenylmethanol (S_p,S)-3 catalyzed the addition to give (R)-1-phenyl-1-propanol in a high yield and with a good enantioselectivity (91% ee).     

Microwave-mediated ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogen transfer

Ru-catalyzed hydrogen transfer from propan-2-ol to acetophenone under microwave conditions using monotosylated (R,R)-diphenylethylenediamine as the chiral source afforded (R)-1-phenylethanol in >90% yield and 82% e.e. within 9 min, while use of ephedrine or norephedrine gave the same compound in high yield with 70 and 46% e.e., respectively. t-Butylphenylketone was reduced to (R)-2,2-dimethyl-1-phenyl-1-propanol under the same conditions in close to quantitative yield, although with low enantioselectivity.     

Highly efficient double enantioselection by lipase-catalyzed transesterification of (R,S)-carboxylic acid vinyl esters with (RS)-1-phenylethanol

Transesterification of the title compounds using lipase B from Candida antarctica in toluene afforded the corresponding esters in good to excellent diastereomeric excess. (R)-2-Phenylpropionic acid-(R)-1-phenethyl ester 4 was isolated in 45% yield and 64% de after 2.5 h, whereas (R)-2-phenylbutyric acid-(R)-1-phenethyl ester 5 was obtained in 40% yield and 56% de after 35 h. A single recrystallization from n-hexane gave 4 with 98% de. In all reactions CAL-B showed excellent enantioselectivity (E >100) toward (RS)-1-phenylethanol and moderate enantioselectivity (E∼10) toward both carboxylic acid vinyl esters.     

Chiral ligands derived from abrine. Part 6: Importance of a bulky N-alkyl group in indole-containing chiral β-tertiary amino alcohols for controlling enantioselectivity in addition of diethylzinc toward aldehydes

A number of chiral β-amino alcohols possessing a 3-indolylmethyl group have been synthesized from the alkaloid, (S)-abrine and elucidated for potency in the catalytic enantioselective ethylation of PhCHO with Et₂Zn. In general, the secondary amines 15a–d bearing a dialkylhydroxymethyl group induced (R)-1-phenyl-1-propanol, whereas 15e–g and 18 bearing a diarylhydroxymethyl group favored the (S)-enantiomer. In contrast, the β-tertiary amino alcohols 20b–d and 21 produced (R)-1-phenyl-1-propanol, regardless of the substituents at the carbon bearing the hydroxy group. Enantiomeric excess of 87.5% was obtained for (R)-1-phenyl-1-propanol using ligand 21 as the promoter. Eleven substituted benzaldehydes and naphthaldehydes were examined for enantioselective ethylation by using 21 and the chiral alcohols were obtained in 93–97% ee, except for o-BrC₆H₄CHO and p-Me₂NC₆H₄CHO. Excellent enantioselectivity was also observed in the ethylation of cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde (94.8% ee) and 2-thiophenecarboxaldehyde (94.9% ee) by using catalytic 21. The anti 5/4/4-fused tricyclic TS I was proposed to rationalize the asymmetric induction. The diethylhydroxymethyl and N-2-t-butylethyl groups are believed to enforce the preference for the anti-TS(R) I and it results in high enantioselectivity.     

A new enzymatic strategy for the preparation of (2R,3S)-3-phenylisoserine: a key intermediate for the Taxol side chain

Burkholderia cepacia lipase PS-IM catalysed the hydrolysis of racemic ethyl 3-amino-3-phenyl-2-hydroxypropionate with excellent enantioselectivity (E >200), when the reaction was performed with added H₂O as a nucleophile, in iPr₂O, at 50 °C. The hydrolysis of the less reactive enantiomeric ethyl 3-amino-3-phenyl-2-hydroxypropionate with 18% HCl afforded the corresponding enantiomerically pure (2R,3S)-3-amino-3-phenyl-2-hydroxypropionic acid hydrochloride, a key intermediate for the Taxol side chain.     

The effect of the migrating group structure on enantioselectivity in lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution of 1-phenylethanol

We have studied the effects of the acyl moiety on the enantioselectivity of three lipases: Candida antarctica B, Pseudomonas cepacia and Candida cylindracea, frequently used in kinetic resolutions by acylation or hydrolysis. The size of the acyl group was examined using various enol esters during the transesterification of 1-phenylethanol and the hydrolysis of the corresponding phenylethylesters. C. antarctica-B lipase showed the highest selectivity in the transesterification of 1-phenylethanol with isopropenyl and vinyl acetate, vinyl decanoate, vinyl laurate, (E > 200). The esters 1-phenyl -ethyl-acetate, decanoate and laurate are also hydrolyzed with high selectivities (E > 150) with CAL-B. The results can be correlated to the three-dimensional form of each lipase. The effect of the migrating group on the reactivity and selectivity of the lipases are discussed for both reactions.     

The catalytic condensation of ω-phenyl-substituted alcohols in the presence of an iron oxide

The results of gas-phase conversion of ω-phenyl-substituted alcohols (benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, 3-phenyl-1-propanol) and their equimolar mixtures with primary normal alcohol (1-octanol) are presented. Reactions were carried out at atmospheric pressure in the presence of an iron catalyst in the temperature range of 568–673 K and load of 2.0 h⁻¹. 2-Phenylethanol and 3-phenyl-1-propanol undergo dehydrogenation to aldehydes and condensation to esters. At higher temperatures symmetrical ketones containing ω-phenyl group as substituent are formed. Mixtures of these alcohols with 1-octanol give among others asymmetrical aromatic-aliphatic ketones.     

Production of (R)-chiral alcohols by a hydrogen-transfer bioreduction with NADH-dependent Leifsonia alcohol dehydrogenase (LSADH)

Alcohol dehydrogenase (LSADH) isolated from Leifsonia sp. S749 was used to produce (R)-chiral alcohols. The enzyme with a broad substrate range reduced various prochiral ketones and keto esters to yield optically active secondary alcohols with a high enantiomeric excess. LSADH transferred the pro-S hydrogen of NADH to the carbonyl moiety of phenyl trifluoromethyl ketone 13 through its re face to give (S)-1-phenyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol 40. LSADH was able to efficiently reproduce NADH when 2-propanol was used as a hydrogen donor in the reaction mixture.     

Chiral ligands derived from Abrine 8. An experimental and theoretical study of free ligand conformational preferences and the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde

Three structurally similar series of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline ligands, 4a-d, 6a-d and 7a-d, and two series of chiral oxazolidines, 8a-d and 9a-g, were synthesized and used as chiral catalysts in the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde. The enantioselectivities of the resulting 1-phenyl-1-propanol were obtained in each case, and these ee values were, in most cases, related to the conformational populations of the free ligand as expressed by the calculated differences in the energies of the ligand conformations formed by inversion at nitrogen. This suggested the possible existence of a linear free energy relationship. The effect on enantioselectivity of the carbon chain length of the R group located (1) on the C-3 substituent of 4a-d, 6a-d, and 7a-d or (2) at C-5 in 8a-d and 9a-g was studied in detail. On the basis of the correlations observed and the ligands' structural characterization, a structure was proposed for the transition state during ethyl group transfer when using ligands 8a-d. Furthermore, the change in enantioselectivity was successfully predicted when diastereomeric ligands 11 and 12 were compared in this chiral addition.