The Use of Organic Solvent Systems in the Yeast Mediated Reduction of Ethyl Acetoacetate

Article abstract of DOI:10.1246/bcsj.67.2528

The reduction of ethyl acetoacetate to ethyl (S)-3-hydroxybutyrate, mediated by freeze-dried yeast, proceeds in good yield (53-58percent) and with high enantioselectivity (>96percentee) in a number of organic solvents; petroleum ether, diethyl ether, toluene, and carbon tetrachloride.A small amount of water (0.8 ml (g-yeast)^-1) is required for the reaction to proceed.The water/yeast/substrate ratio and the solvent polarity have been found to significantly influence the reactivity of the system.The enantiomeric excess was determined by gas chromatography employing a chiral column.