10.1021/ja984283v
The research aims to enhance enzymatic enantioselectivity in organic solvents without covalent alterations to the enzyme or substrate. The innovative approach proposed involves forming substrate salts with bulky counterions to increase steric hindrances for the less reactive substrate enantiomer, thereby improving enantioselectivity. The study was conducted using various structurally diverse chiral compounds, which were converted to salts using numerous Br?nsted-Lowry acids or bases, and then subjected to enzymatic transesterifications or hydrolyses. The results demonstrated that enzymatic reactions of these salts were significantly more enantioselective than those of the free substrates. Key chemicals used in the process included phenylalanine methyl ester, tropic acid, 2-benzylsuccinic acid 1-monomethyl ester, and various amines and acids for salt formation, such as benzoic acid, chloroacetic acid, 3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamic acid, and quinuclidine. The study concluded that the strategy was effective in organic solvents but not in water, where salts dissociate, and pointed to novel synthetic opportunities in nonaqueous enzymatic catalysis.