Biotechnology Progress, Vol.31, No.3, 724-729, 2015
Biocatalytic Synthesis of C3 Chiral Building Blocks by Chloroperoxidase-Catalyzed Enantioselective Halo-Hydroxylation and Epoxidation in the Presence of Ionic Liquids
The optically active C3 synthetic blocks are remarkably versatile intermediates for the synthesis of numerous pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. This work provides a simple and efficient enzymatic synthetic route for the environment-friendly synthesis of C3 chiral building blocks. Chloroperoxidase (CPO)-catalyzed enantioselective halo-hydroxylation and epoxidation of chloropropene and allyl alcohol was employed to prepare C3 chiral building blocks in this work, including (R)-2,3-dichloro-1-propanol (DCP*), (R)-2,3-epoxy-1-propanol (GLD*), and (R)-3-chloro-1-2-propanediol (CPD*). The ee values of the formed C3 chiral building blocks DCP*, CPD*, and glycidol were 98.1, 97.5, and 96.7%, respectively. Moreover, the use of small amount of imidazolium ionic liquid enhanced the yield efficiently due to the increase of solubility of hydrophobic organic substrates in aqueous reaction media, as well as the improvement of affinity and selectivity of CPO to substrate. (C) 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers