Highly efficient and enantioselective enzymatic acylation of amines in aqueous medium

A new strategy based on the unique catalytic properties, stability and enantioselectivity of the relatively unknown penicillin acylase from Alcaligenes faecalis has been developed for the effective and enantioselective acylation of amines in aqueous medium. In contrast to lipase-catalyzed acylations in organic solvents, the penicillin acylase-catalyzed acylation of amines in aqueous solution is a rapid and chemoselective process leading to a product which can subsequently be deacylated by the same enzyme, imposing secondary enantiocontrol and leading to effective resolution.