Combination strategy using pure enzymes and whole cells as biocatalysts for the preparation of 2-hydroxyesters and lactones from 2-oxoglutaric acid

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/j.tetasy.2004.10.013

An innovative combination strategy that uses pure enzymes and whole microbial cells in the same process was used to prepare enantiomerically pure 3-carboxyalkyl-γ-butyrolactones and several alkyl esters of 2-hydroxyglutarate from 2-oxoglutaric acid. An innovative combination strategy that uses pure enzymes and whole microbial cells in the same process was used to prepare enantiomerically pure 3-carboxyalkyl-γ-butyrolactones and several alkyl esters of 2-hydroxyglutarates from 2-oxoglutaric acid. The method involves two consecutive biocatalytic steps. The first step, which converts the 2-oxoglutaric acid into the corresponding dialkyl esters, was catalyzed by a lipase. Then in the second step, by microbial reduction of the dialkyl-2-oxoglutarates, it is possible to obtain 3-carboxyalkyl-γ- butyrolactones or 2-hydroxyesters depending on the length of the chain in the alkyl moiety of the esters and on the fresh or lyophilized status of the cells.

Full text of DOI:10.1016/j.tetasy.2004.10.013

Tetrahedron:
Asymmetry
Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 15 (2004) 3763–3768
Combination strategy using pure enzymes and whole cells as
biocatalysts for the preparation of 2-hydroxyesters and
lactones from 2-oxoglutaric acid
Eduardo M. Rustoy,a Elba N. Pereyra,b Silvia Morenob and Alicia Baldessaria,*
a
´ ´
Departamento de Quımica Organica y UMYMFOR, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires,
´
Pabellon 2, Piso 3, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina
´ ´
Departamento de Quımica Biologica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellon 2, Piso 4,
b
´
Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Received 31 August 2004; accepted 7 October 2004
Abstract—An innovative combination strategy that uses pure enzymes and whole microbial cells in the same process was used to
prepare enantiomerically pure 3-carboxyalkyl-c-butyrolactones and several alkyl esters of 2-hydroxyglutarates from 2-oxoglutaric
acid. The method involves two consecutive biocatalytic steps. The first step, which converts the 2-oxoglutaric acid into the corre-
sponding dialkyl esters, was catalyzed by a lipase. Then in the second step, by microbial reduction of the dialkyl-2-oxoglutarates,
it is possible to obtain 3-carboxyalkyl-c-butyrolactones or 2-hydroxyesters depending on the length of the chain in the alkyl moiety
of the esters and on the fresh or lyophilized status of the cells.
ꢀ 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
species of insects as components of sex-attractant phero-
mones.4 For example the ethyl ester of the (S)-isomer of
tetrahydro-5-oxo-2-furancarboxylic acid is the raw
material for the synthesis of the pheromone 4-(Z)-6-
dodecenyl-c-butyrolactone (Fig. 2).
Chiral hydroxy esters are important versatile building
blocks in asymmetric synthesis. For instance, c- and d-
hydroxy acid derivatives can be easily transformed into
the corresponding lactones, which are present in a vari-
ety of natural products.1 In addition, lactones are
important building blocks for the synthesis of natural
products, such as alkaloids and terpenoids2 and con-
tinue to attract considerable attention due to their inter-
esting pharmacological activities.3a
The synthesis of derivatives of tetrahydro-5-oxo-2-
furancarboxylic acid has been reported through a series
of non-ÔGreen ChemistryÕ steps. Biocatalysis, either
employing isolated enzymes or whole microbial cells,
offers a greener way to many chiral building blocks.5–7
This has been demonstrated in recent years in the pro-
duction of bulk chemical such as acrylamide and in
the fine chemicals and drug industry.8
There are several examples in the literature of c-butyro-
lactones, which contain a carboxylic group as a substit-
uent of the lactonic ring. (ꢀ)-Nephrosteranic acid and
(ꢀ)-roccellaric acid, known as paraconic acids, belong
to this class of butyrolactones with antibacterial proper-
ties (Fig. 1).3b
H23C11
H27C13
O
O
O
O
On the other hand, some derivatives of enantiomerically
pure tetrahydro-5-oxo-2-furancarboxylic acid are natu-
ral products present in a variety of fruits and in some
HOOC
HOOC
CH3
CH3
(-)-Roccellaric acid
(-)-Nephrosteranic acid
Figure 1.
*
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +5411 4576 3385; e-mail: alib@
qo.fcen.uba.ar
0957-4166/$ - see front matter ꢀ 2004Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.tetasy.2004.10.013

3764
E. M. Rustoy et al. / Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 15 (2004) 3763–3768
EtOOC
O
O
O
O
C5H11
(S)-Tetrahydro-5-oxo-2-
4-(Z)-6-Dodecenyl-γ-butyrolactone
furancarboxylic acid ethyl ester
Figure 2.
There are some examples in the literature about the
preparation of substituted c-butyrolactones applying
biocatalytic methods through enzyme-catalyzed lactoni-
zation of hydroxy diesters9 or by microbial reduction of
1,4-ketoacids.10 The synthesis of tetrahydro-5-oxo-2-
furancarboxylic acid alkyl esters following a chemoenzy-
matic way, in which biocatalytic procedures were used in
combination with reagents of the traditional synthetic
approach, has also been reported.11
2.1. First enzymatic step: lipase-catalyzed esterification of
2-oxoglutaric acid
Lipases in nature catalyze the hydrolysis of triacylgly-
cerides, and interestingly also catalyze related reactions
such as esterification or transesterification in non-natu-
ral reaction conditions like anhydrous organic media.
In previous work, we have applied this methodology
in the esterification of carboxylic acids of variable chain
length including fatty acids with ethanol12,14 and some
natural alcoholism such as steroids and vitamin B6.15,16
Our previous work on lipase-catalyzed esterification of
carboxylic acids12 and stereoselective reduction of b-
ketoesters13 prompted us to explore the application of
the combination of both methodologies in a consecutive
way, using 2-oxo-glutaric acid as the substrate. The aim
of the work was to find a green alternative to traditional
chemical reactions, which involve reagents and reaction
conditions not friendly to the environment.
Herein, compounds 2a–f were obtained through esterifi-
cation of the 2-oxoglutaric acid 1 catalyzed by lipases
from several sources: from yeast: Candida rugosa lipase
(CRL), Candida antarctica lipase (CAL); Lipozyme
from the fungus Mucor miehei (LIP), and lipase PS
(PSL) and PS-C (PSL-C) from Pseudomonas sp. The five
commercial lipases were tested in the esterification of 1
with ethanol to obtain 2b.The lipase from Candida ant-
arctica (CAL) gave the most satisfactory results at both
temperatures. The other four lipases were also active but
gave a lower performance. Without enzymes, 2-oxoglu-
taric acid did not react at all. To optimize the reaction
conditions, we performed several experiments by chang-
ing reaction parameters such as temperature (30ꢁC and
55ꢁC) and enzyme–substrate ratio (E/S). We observed
that an increase in temperature did not improve the re-
sults, not even in the case of PSL and PSL-C which
showed low reactivity towards the esterification
reaction.
Herein we report the results obtained by lipase-catalyzed
esterification of 2-oxoglutaric acid with several alcohols
and the following reduction of the obtained a-ketoesters
by whole cells of the fungus Mucor rouxii as source of
reductase activity (Scheme 1).
2. Results and discussion
We have prepared, under mild reaction conditions, a
variety of alkyl derivatives of 2-hydroxyglutaric acid in
a chemo- and stereoselective manner, and in moderate
to high yield. The preparation was performed in two
consecutive enzymatic steps: (1) lipase-catalyzed esterifi-
cation of 2-oxoglutaric acid and (2) chemo- and stereo-
selective microbial reduction of 2-oxoglutarate alkyl
esters.
Regarding the influence of the enzyme:substrate ratio, it
can be observed that an enzyme:substrate ratio of 5:1
gave the best results. Taking into consideration the
above mentioned work,12 we have chosen the following
O
O
ROOC
M. rouxii
OR freeze-dried cells
O
HO
OH
ROH
Lipase
RO
O
O
O
O
O
3a-b
2a-f
1
M. rouxii
fresh cells
OH
RO
O
OR
O
4a-f
Scheme 1. Lipase-catalyzed esterification of 2-oxoglutaric acid and subsequent M. rouxii reduction. a: R = CH3–; b: R = CH3CH2–;
c: R = CH3(CH2)2–; d: R = (CH3)2CH–; e: R = CH3(CH2)3–; f: R = (CH3)2CHCH2–.

E. M. Rustoy et al. / Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 15 (2004) 3763–3768
3765
Table 2. M. rouxii yeast-like cells catalyzed reduction of alkyl 2-
oxoglutarates
standard conditions for the biocatalytic esterification:
CAL, excess of alcohol, temperature of 30ꢁC and an
E/S ratio of 5/1.
Substrate
Product
Time (h)
Conversion (%)
Ee (%)
2a
2b
2c
2d
2e
2f
4a
4b
4c
4d
4e
4f
24100
24100
24100
2498
4
95 (
98 (
S)
S)
The treatment of 2-oxoglutaric acid with several pri-
mary alcohols in the presence of CAL afforded the
corresponding 2-oxoglutarate dialkyl esters in almost
quantitative yields (94–100%).
(
94
S)
S)
99 (
4
0
0
0S)
S)
93
4
2496
26
91 (
95 (
2ga
4g
S)
The preparation of compounds 2a–e has been previously
reported according to the known chemical procedures
by refluxing the acid with the corresponding alcohol in
toluene with p-toluenesulfonic acid as a catalyst.11 Due
to a-ketoacids, such as 2-oxoglutaric acid, undergoing
decarboxylation fairly readily, yields were not very high.
The enzymatic approach we have applied for the first
time on this substrate gave the products in almost quan-
titative yield. The procedure is simpler, can be carried
out at room temperature and only uses alcohol as a sol-
vent and esterifying agent.
Reaction conditions are described in the Experimental. The biomass
was obtained from 18–20h anaerobic cultures. Solvent: hexane.
a 2g: Ethyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbutanoate; 4g: Ethyl-2-hydroxy-4-
phenylbutanoate.
position product was detected. The best results were
obtained in low polar organic solvents such as pure
hexane, with high enantioselectivity of the (S)-enantio-
mer. In the presence of more polar solvents, such as
dioxane or ethyl acetate, only the starting material was
recovered. We observed that conversion decreased by
increasing the polarity of the solvent. The use of
water-organic solvent media was only effective in mix-
tures of hexane–water and toluene–water, but although
the degree of conversion obtained was similar or even
better to that of the organic solvent alone, the stereose-
lectivity decreased (Table 1). The (S)-a-hydroxyester
was the isolated enantiomer in all cases.
2.2. Second enzymatic step: chemo- and stereoselective
microbial reduction of 2-oxoglutarate dialkyl esters
In this step we studied the enzymatic reduction of the
dialkyl 2-oxoglutarates. Considering the good perform-
ance shown by the fungus M. rouxii in the reduction
of b-ketoesters,13 we decided to use it as a microbial
source. M. rouxii is a dimorphic fungus that can grow
as a cenocytic mycelium under aerobic conditions or
as yeast cells under anaerobiosis and high glucose levels
in the culture medium. Herein we used fresh and freeze-
dried cells from M. rouxii cultures, derived from anaer-
obic (yeast) growth conditions, as a source of reductase
activity. The results using fresh cultures of the yeast cells
of the fungus are shown in Tables 1 and 2.
Under our experimental conditions M. rouxii reductases
showed a better stereoselectivity than the reported on
reductions using bakerÕs yeast.17 This result can be ex-
plained by considering not only the nature of M. rouxii
yeast cells but also the influence of the organic medium.
It has been reported that side products were formed
when some a-ketoesters were reduced by bakerÕs yeast
in water.18 Nakamura et al. have demonstrated that
these side products are primary alcohols such as 4-
hydroxybutanoates, in the biotransformation of several
alkyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbutanoates.19 To compare this re-
sult, we tested the reduction of ethyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbut-
anoate 2g with yeast cells of M. rouxii in hexane and
obtained the corresponding (S)-a-hydroxyester 4g as
the only product with 96% conversion and 91% ee.
Table 1. M. rouxii yeast-like cells-reduction of diethyl 2-oxoglutarate
2b,a solvent effect
Solvent
Biomass/
substrate
(g/mmol)
Time Conversion Ee
(%)
(h)
(%)
Water
Hexane
8
24100
24100
24100
2463
2476
36
8 (
4
S)
S)
S)
S)
S)
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
98 (
79 (
Hexane–water
Toluene
Considering that hexane was the best solvent in the case
of substrate 2b, we studied the course of its conversion
and enantiomeric excess by M. rouxii yeast cells under
these conditions. An enantiomeric excess of around
90–98% was obtained throughout, independently of
the degree of conversion. Table 2 shows the results of
yeast-catalyzed reduction of the rest of the substrates
2a–f, using a suspension of cells in hexane.
75 (
63 (
Toluene–water
Dioxane
0
0
—
—
—
—
Dioxane–water
Ethyl acetate
36
36
0.3
0.9
Ethyl acetate-water 17
36
aReaction conditions are described in the Experimental. The biomass
was obtained from 18–20h anaerobic cultures. Solvent: hexane.
The data show that the alkoxy chain in the ketoglutarate
esters affected the degree of conversion of substrates but
not the enantiomeric purity of the product. The cellular
reductase activity was sensitive to the presence of a
bulky group as substituent in R such as butyl 2e and
isobutyl 2f with only 40% and 26% of conversion
being observed in these cases. Di-isobutyl-2-hydroxy-
glutarate 4f had not been previously reported in litera-
ture. This novel compound was completely identified
It was observed that the carbonyl group of the ketoest-
ers was chemoselectively reduced to give the correspond-
ing a-hydroxyesters 4a–f, while the ester carbonyl
groups remained unchanged.
Yeast cells were active both in organic media and in
biphasic systems, as can be observed in Table 1. In every
case, only the a-hydroxyester was obtained. No decom-

3766
E. M. Rustoy et al. / Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 15 (2004) 3763–3768
by spectroscopic methods: FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR and
HR-MS.
lipase-catalyzed esterification of 2-oxoglutaric acid and
the following reduction of the esters with yeast cells of
the fungus M. rouxii. Fresh cultures of yeast cells
produced (S)-2-hydroxyesters and freeze-dried cells pro-
duced (S)-3-carboxymethyl and (S)-3-carboxyethyl-c-
butyrolactones or (S)-2-hydroxyesters depending on
the length of the alkyl chain in the ester. This synthetic
way constitutes a green alternative to traditional chem-
ical reactions.
The absolute configuration was determined by convert-
ing 4f to 2-hydroxyglutaric acid20 through a CAL-cata-
lyzed hydrolysis. To be sure that the enzymatic
hydrolysis of the ester did not affect the absolute config-
uration at carbon two, the method was previously
performed using di-isopropyl-(2S)-hydroxyglutarate
25
D
catalyzed hydrolysis of 4d produced (2S)-hydroxyglu-
4d of known configuration: ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ1:2.11 The CAL
25
25
taric acid; ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ2:0. Treating 4f, ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ5:2, in
25
4. Experimental
4.1. General
D
D
the same conditions gave again (2S)-hydroxyglutaric
acid, ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ1:85. It can be concluded that the absolute
D
configuration of C-2 in 4f is (S).
All solvents and reagents were reagent grade and used
without purification. Lipase from C. rugosa CRL (905
units/mg solid), were purchased from Sigma Chemical
Co.; Candida antarctica lipase B: Novozym 435 CAL
(7400 PLU/g) and Lipozyme RM 1M (7800 U/g) were
generous gifts of Novozymes Latinoamerica Ltda and
Novozymes A/S; Pseudomonas lipase: Lipase PS-C
Amano II PSL-C(804U/g) and Lipase PS Amano PSL
(33,200 U/g) were purchased to Amano Pharmaceutical
Co. All enzymes were used Ôstraight from the bottleÕ.
Next we studied the behavior of the microbial system
with freeze-dried yeast cells. The cells were rehydrated
with water before the addition of hexane as solvent.
Table 3 shows the results.
Table 3. M. rouxii freeze-dried yeast-like cells catalyzed reduction of
alkyl 2-oxoglutarates
Substrate
Product
Time (h)
Conversion (%)
Ee (%)
2a
2b
2c
2d
2e
2f
3a
3b
4c
4d
4e
4f
2488
24100
24100
24100
4
97 (
98 (
S)
S)
Enzymatic reactions were carried out on an Innova 4000
digital incubator shaker, New Brunswick Scientific Co.
97 (
98 (
S)
S)
at 30 ꢁC and 200 rpm. IR spectra were measured on a
0
35
S)
92 (S)
94
(
Nicolet-Magna-550-FT/IR
spectrophotometer;
in
40
14
1
cmꢀ1. H NMR and 13C NMR spectra were recorded
at 200 MHz using a Bruker AC-200 spectrometer. Chem-
ical shifts are reported in d units relative to tetramethylsi-
lane (TMS) as the internal standard, using CDCl3 and
D2O as solvents. EI-MS were obtained at 70eV using a
TRIO-2 VG Masslab and Shimadzu QP-5000 mass spec-
trometers, in m/z (%). High resolution mass spectra were
recorded on a ZAB BEqQ instrument. Optical purity of
products was determined by the specific rotation using
H2O or CH3OH as solvents with a Perkin Elmer 343
polarimeter. GLC analysis were obtained on a Finnigan
Focus GC, Thermo Electron Co. instrument, the capil-
lary column being Carbowax 20H-022, 30m · 0.2mm,
film thickness 0.2lm, (1min at 80ꢁC, 2ꢁC/min, 200ꢁC).
For enantiomeric excess determination HP Chiraldex
G-TA capillary column, 40m · 0.32mm, (15min at
80ꢁC, 2ꢁC/min, 100ꢁC) was used and compared with
the corresponding racemic products. The absolute con-
figuration of products 3a and b and 4a–e was determined
by the comparison with the sign of the specific rotation
reported in the literature (circular dichroism).11 To
determine its absolute configuration, di-i-butyl-2-hydr-
oxylglutarate 4f, was enzymatically hydrolyzed to 2-
hydroxyglutaric acid and the specific rotation of the
product compared with literature.
Reaction conditions are described in the Experimental. Biomass/sub-
strate: 20g/mmol. The dehydrated biomass was obtained from 18–20h
anaerobic cultures and added to the reaction system according to the
fresh:dehydrated ratio as explained in Experimental.
Depending on the size of the alkyl chain in the 2-oxo-
glutarate alkyl ester, we have obtained different
products. With the largest groups of the three carbons
(n-propyl 2c and isopropyl 2d) and four carbons (n-butyl
2e and isobutyl 2f) the freeze-dried yeast cells produced
the corresponding 2-hydroxyesters 4c to 4f. With these
substrates, freezed-dried cells and fresh cultures work
in the same way. However in the case of small alkyl
groups in alkyl 2-oxoglutarates, such as methyl 2a and
ethyl 2b, we obtained the corresponding c-butyrolac-
tones 3a and 3b. Although the reactivity was better, as
in the case of the ethyl derivative 3b, we found that
the steric course of the reaction was the same as in the
reduction with fresh cells, giving the (S)-stereoisomers
for 3a and 3b. Both c-butyrolactones were obtained in
one step by treating the methyl and ethyl 2-oxoglutarate
with the freeze-dried yeast cells from M. rouxii.
3. Conclusions
A new efficient enzymatic pathway has been developed
for the synthesis of enantiopure (S)-3-carboxymethyl
and (S)-3-carboxyethyl-c-butyrolactones and several
enantiopure dialkyl (S)-2-hydroxyglutarates from 2-
oxoglutaric acid. We have described for the first time a
fully enzymatic strategy from the 2-oxocarboxylic acid
to the reduction products, involving the use of a
4.2. Lipase-catalyzed preparation of 2-oxoglutarate
dialkyl esters
4.2.1. General procedure for lipase-catalyzed esterifica-
tion of 2-oxoglutaric acid 2a–f. Lipase Novozym 435
(500mg) was added to a solution of 2-oxoglutaric acid
(3mmol) in the corresponding alcohol (10ml). The sus-

E. M. Rustoy et al. / Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 15 (2004) 3763–3768
3767
25
tR (S) = 9.6min). ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ4:1 (c = 0.45, MeOH)
pension was shaken (200rpm) at 30ꢁC and the progress
of the reaction monitored by GLC. When the acid was
converted into the alkyl ester, the enzyme was filtered
off and the solvent evaporated. Products 2a–e were iden-
D
25
D
{lit.11 ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ4:9 (c = 0.47, EtOH)}.
4.4.1.3. (S)-Di-n-propyl-2-hydroxyglutarate 4c. 100%
Conversion; (S): 94% ee; tR = 13.8min (tR (R) =
1
tified by GC–MS and by H and 13C NMR spectro-
25
D
scopy. Tests with other lipases were performed under
13.3min; tR (S) = 13.7min). ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ6:9 (c =
1
the same experimental conditions. IR, H NMR, 13C
25
0.24, MeOH) {lit.11 ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ5:5 (c = 0.11, MeOH)}.
D
NMR and MS data of compounds 2a–e were in accord-
ance with those reported in the literature.11,21,22 Yields
of compounds 2a–e are reported in Table 2.
4.4.1.4. (S)-Di-i-propyl-2-hydroxyglutarate 4d. 98%
Conversion; (S): 99% ee; tR = 11,9min (tR (R) =
25
D
11.3min; tR (S) = 11.9min). ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ3:5 (c =
25
0.88, MeOH) {lit.11 ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ1:1 (c = 1.4, MeOH)}.
4.2.2. Di-i-butyl-2-oxoglutarate 2f. 100% Yield. IR
D
1
(film) cmꢀ1: 1780 (C@O), COO–(1) and (5): 1730. H
NMR (CDCl3)
d (ppm): 0.93 (d, 6H, (CH3)2-
4.4.1.5. (S)-Di-n-butyl-2-hydroxyglutarate 4e. 40%
Conversion; (S): 93% ee; tR = 15.2min (tR (R) =
CHCH2OOCCH2–)), 0.98 (d, 6H, (CH3)2CHCH2OO-
COC–)), 1.95 (m, 1H, (CH3)2CHCH2OOCCH2–)), 2.05
(m, 1H, (CH3)2CHCH2OOCOC–)), 2.70 (t, 2H, (CH3)2-
CHCH2OOCCH2–)), 3.18 (t, 2H, (CH3)2CHCH2OO-
COCCH2–)), 3.89 (d, 2H, (CH3)2CHCH2OOCCH2–)),
4.12 (d, 2H, (CH3)2CHCH2OOCOC–)). 13C NMR
(CDCl3): 18.96 (C30-C40), 27.61 (C-3), 34.27 (C-4),
70.85 (C-20), 72.43 (C-10), 160.56 (C-1), 161.95 (C-5),
192.54(C-2). EI-MS ( m/z,%): 258 (1), 183 (13), 101
(11), 57 (100), 41 (56). HR-MS: 258.3165 (C13H23Oþ5 ;
calc. 258.3172).
25
D
14.7min; tR (S) = 15.1min). ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ4:6 (c = 0.76,
25
MeOH) {lit.11 (R) ½aŠ ¼ þ2:2 (c = 0.76, MeOH)}.
D
4.4.1.6.
Di-i-butyl-2-hydroxyglutarate
4f. 26%
Conversion.; (S): 95% ee; tR = 14.7min; tR (R) =
14.3min; tR (S) = 14.7min; IR (film) cmꢀ1: 34 55
(OH), 1735 (COO); H NMR (CDCl3) d (ppm): 0.92
1
(d, 6H, (CH3)2CHCH2OOCCH2–)), 0.94(dd, 6H,
(CH3)2CHCH2OOC(OH)HC–)), 1.95 (m, 1H, (CH3)2-
CHCH2OOCCH2–)), 1.81–1.99 (m, 1H, –CH2CH2CH-
OHCOO–)), 2.05 (m, 1H, (CH3)2CHCH2OOCOC)),
2.38–2.53 (dd, 2H, –CH2CH2CHOHCOO–)), 3.87 (d,
2H, (CH3)2CHCH2OOCCH2–)), 3.97 (dd, 2H, ((CH3)2-
CHCH2OOC(OH)HC–)), 4.23 (m, 1H(CH3)2CH-
CH2OOC(OH)HC–)). 13C NMR (CDCl3): 18.96
(–COOCH(CH3)2), 18.91 (–CHOHCOOCH(CH3)2), 27.7
(–COOCHCH2(CH3)2), 29.81 (–CH2CHOHCOO–),
29.55 (–OCOCH2CH2CHOHCOO–), 69.55 (–CH2CO-
OCHCH2(CH3)2), 70.56 (–CHOHCOOCHCH2(CH3)2),
71.89 (–CHOH–), 173.18 (–CHOHCO–), 174.79
(–CH2CO–). EI-MS (m/z, %): 259 (1), 245 (4), 187
4.3. Di-alkyl-2-oxoglutarate microbial reduction
Fresh cultures and freeze-dried yeast cells of M. rouxii
were grown as described previously.13 Biomass (2g)
obtained from cultures was incubated with 5ml of
organic solvents such as ethyl acetate, toluene, hexane,
etc, alone or in biphasic systems mixed with 2ml sterile
water, in 25ml sterile Erlenmeyer flasks stoppered and
sealed. Water incubations were performed in 5ml sterile
water alone. The substrates were added to these systems
(0.1–0.25mmol for standard assays) and incubated at
28ꢁC in a rotatory shaker at 200 rpm. for different times.
The reactions were stopped by centrifugation at
10,000 · g; the supernatants were removed and, when
applied, water phases were extracted with ethyl acetate.
The products were purified by flash chromatography
(eluant: hexane:ethyl acetate, 95:5 to 75:25). All experi-
ments were performed in duplicate.
(41), 103 (59), 59 (100). HR-MS: 260.3328 (C13H24Oþ5 ;
25
D
calcd 260.3332) 91% ee; tR = 14.5min; ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ5:2 (c =
0.68, MeOH).
4.4.1.7. Reduction of ethyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbutanoate
2g. 96% Yield; IR (film) cmꢀ1: 3400 (OH), 1724
(COO); 1H NMR (CDCl3) d (ppm) = 7.35–7.10 (m,
5H, aromatic H), 4.20 (q, 2H, –COOCH2CH3), 4.17
(m, 1H, –CHOH–), 2.93 (br s, 1H, OH), 2.77 (t, 2H,
4.4. Reduction products
PhCH2CH2CHOHCOO–),
2.17–1.89
(m,
2H,
1
IR, H NMR, 13C NMR and MS data of compounds
PhCH2CH2CHOHCOO–), 1.28 (t, 3H, COOCH2CH3).
13C NMR (CDCl3) d (ppm) = 175.79 (CO), 142.29,
128.74, 128.01, 125.47 (aromatic C), 69.47 (–CHOH–),
60.91 (–COOCH2CH3), 34.78 (–CH2CH2CHOHCOO–),
32.56 (–CH2CH2CHOHCOO–), 14.01 (–COOCH2CH3).
4a–e and 3a and 3b are in accordance with those re-
ported in literature.11,23,24 Conversion of compounds
4a–e obtained by M. rouxii yeast-like cells reduction
are reported in Table 2 and of 3a and 3b and 4c–f ob-
tained by M. rouxii freeze-dried yeast-like cells reduc-
tion in Table 3.
EI-MS (m/z, %): 208 (4), 190 (6), 163 (49), 145 (69),
20
D
91 (100). ½aŠ ¼ þ19:4 (c = 1.1, CHCl3) {lit.25 (R):
24
½aŠ ¼ ꢀ21:6
(c = 1.1,
CHCl3)}.
Ee = 91%,
D
tR = 15.9min.
4.4.1. M. rouxii yeast cells reduction
4.4.1.1. (S)-Di-methyl-2-hydroxyglutarate 4a. 100%
Conversion; (S): 95% ee; tR = 8.9min (tR (R) = 8.5min;
4.4.2. M. rouxii freeze-dried yeast cells reduc-
tion. Reduction reactions were performed under the
conditions previously described with fresh cells.
Freeze-dried biomass (0.5g) were resuspended in 1ml
sterile water, previous to the addition of the organic
solvents.
25
D
tR (S) = 8.9min). ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ5:2 (c = 0.38, MeOH) {lit.11
25
½aŠ ¼ ꢀ4:5 (c = 0.22, MeOH)}.
D
4.4.1.2. (S)-Di-ethyl-2-hydroxyglutarate 4b. 100%
Conversion; (S): 98% ee; tR = 9.6min (tR (R) = 9.3min;

3768
E. M. Rustoy et al. / Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 15 (2004) 3763–3768
179; (b) Fukui, H.; Tuschiya, Y.; Fujita, K.; Nakawaga,
4.4.2.1. (2S)-Tetrahydro-5-oxo-2-furancarboxylic acid
T.; Koshino, H.; Nakata, T. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett.
1997, 7, 2081–2086.
3. (a) Murta, M. M.; de Azevedo, M. B. M.; Greene, A. E. J.
Org. Chem. 1993, 58, 7537–7541, and references therein;
(b) Sibi, M. P.; Liu, P.; Ji, J.; Hajra, S.; Chen, J. J. Org.
Chem. 2002, 67, 1738–1745.
4. Sledski, A. W.; Boukouvalas, J. In Stud. Nat. Prod. Chem.;
Elsevier: Amsterdam, 1989; Vol. 3, pp 157–171.
5. Bommarius, A. S.; Riebel, B. R. Biocatalysis, Fundamen-
tals and Applications; Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, 2004.
6. Carrea, G.; Riva, S. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2000, 39,
2226–2254.
methyl ester 3a. The crude reaction product (88% con-
version) was purified on silica gel (eluant: hexane:ethyl
acetate, gradient from 99:1 to 70:30). mp 57–59ꢁC
1
[lit.11 mp 61ꢁC, lit.24 mp 58–60ꢁC]. IR, H NMR, 13C
NMR and MS were identical with those reported in lit-
20
D
erature.11,25 ½aŠ ¼ þ14:9 (c = 1.08, MeOH); {lit.11
25
½aŠ ¼ þ15:8 (c = 0.65, MeOH)}.
D
4.4.2.2. (2S)-Tetrahydro-5-oxo-2-furancarboxylic acid
ethyl ester 3b. The crude reaction product (100% con-
version) was purified on silica gel (eluant: hexane:ethyl
acetate, gradient from 99:1 to 75:25). Oil. IR, 1H
7. Csuk, R.; Glanzer, B. Chem. Rev. 1991, 91,
97.
4 9–
NMR, 13C NMR and MS were identical with those re-
20
D
8. Patel, R. N. Stereoselective Biocatalysis; Marcel Dekker:
Amsterdam, 1999.
9. Gutman, A. L.; Bravdo, T. J. Org. Chem. 1989, 54, 4263–
4265.
10. Brenna, E.; Dei Negri, C.; Fuganti, C.; Serra, S. Tetra-
hedron: Asymmetry 2001, 12, 1871–1879.
11. Drioli, S.; Nitti, P.; Pittaco, G.; Tossut, L.; Valentin, E.
Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 1999, 10, 2713–2728.
12. Baldessari, A.; Mangone, C. P. J. Mol. Catal. B: Enzym.
2001, 11, 335–341.
13. Mangone, C. P.; Pereyra, E. N.; Argimon, S.; Moreno, S.;
Baldessari, A. Enzyme Microb. Technol. 2002, 30, 596–
601.
14. Baldessari, A.; Gros, E. G. Argentine Patent AR
002219B1.
15. Bruttomesso, A. C.; Tiscornia, A.; Baldessari, A. Biocatal.
Biotransform. 2004, 22, 215–220.
16. Baldessari, A.; Mangone, C. P. Biocatal. Biotransform.
2002, 20, 275–279.
ported in literature.11,24 ½aŠ ¼ þ14:6 (c = 0.76 EtOH);
25
[lit.11 ½aŠ ¼ þ13:3 (c = 0.56, EtOH), lit.22 ½aŠ
25
D
¼
D
þ15:1 (c = 0.60, EtOH)].
4.5. Enzymatic hydrolysis of 4e and 4f
To a solution of 4e or 4f (1mmol) in buffer phosphate
pH = 7 (16ml), 300mg of CAL were added. The
progress of reaction was monitored by GC. When the
ester was converted into the 2-hydroxyglutaric acid,
the solution was acidified to pH 1 with 2N HCl and
extracted four times with diethyl ether. The organic
layers were dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and
concentrated under reduced pressure to give a solid
residue, which was purified by silica gel column
chromatography to obtain 2-hydroxyglutaric acid.
Specific rotation of the product was determined and
17. Rottahus, O.; Kruger, D.; Demuth, M.; Schaffer, K.
Tetrahedron 1997, 53, 935–938.
18. Nakamura, K.; Kondo, S.; Kawai, Y.; Ohno, A. Bull.
Chem. Soc. Jpn. 1993, 66, 2738–2743.
19. Nakamura, K.; Kondo, S.; Kawai, Y.; Ohno, A. Tetra-
hedron Lett. 1991, 32, 7075–7078.
the value corresponds to (2S)-hydroxyglutaric acid:
25
D
2-Hydroxyglutaric from 4e: ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ2:0 (c = 1.0, water)
25
2-hydroxyglutaric from 4f ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ1:85 (c = 0.90,
D
25
D
water) {lit.26 ½aŠ ¼ ꢀ1:1 (c = 1.4, MeOH)}.
20. Hoffmann, M.; Wasielewski, C. Rocz. Chem. 1975, 49,
151–158.
Acknowledgements
21. Hachihama, Y.; Shono, T. J. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 1955, 58,
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22. Cappon, J. J.; Baart, J.; van del Walle, G. A. M.; Rapp, J.;
Lugtenburg, J. Recl. Trav. Chim. Pays-Bas 1991, 110, 158–
166.
We thank UBA and ANPCyT for partial financial sup-
port. The authors gratefully acknowledge M. M. Rivero
for his assistance in GC analysis.
23. Hartman, F. C.; Barker, R. J. J. Org. Chem. 1964, 29, 873–
877.
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