Bioreductive synthesis of perfluorinated chiral alcohols

Perfluorinated chiral alcohols are interesting building blocks for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Different chiral (R)- and (S)-configured perfluorinated alcohols were produced by asymmetric reduction of the corresponding ketones. Commercially available alcohol dehydrogenases were used as catalyst in combination with different cofactor regenerating systems. High selectivities of >99% were observed in most cases. The results also demonstrate the influence of the CF₃ group on reactivity and enantioselectivity of alcohol dehydrogenases.