Nitrile and amide biotransformations for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure 3-arylaziridine-2-carboxamide derivatives and their stereospecific ring-opening reactions

Catalyzed by Rhodococcus erythropolis AJ270 (whole cell catalyst) under very mild conditions, a number of racemic trans-3-arylaziridine-2-carbonitriles and amides were efficiently transformed into enantiopure 2R,3S-3-arylaziridine-2-carboxamides. While the nitrile hydratase exhibits low selectivity against nitrile substrates, the amidase is highly enantioselective toward 2S,3R-3-arylaziridine-2-carboxamides. Upon the treatment with catalytic hydrogenation, amine, or water in the presence of one equivalent of TFA, the resulting aziridine-2-carboxamides underwent highly efficient and stereospecific ring-opening reactions to produce enantiopure alpha-amino-, alpha,beta-diamino-, and alpha-amino-beta-hydroxy-propanamide derivatives in high yields.