1081978-76-8

Upstream product

• 40101-17-5 3,3'-dimethoxybenzil 
• 591-31-1 3-methoxy-benzaldehyde 
• 6706-95-2 3,3'-dimethoxybenzoin 

Relevant academic research and scientific papers

Biocatalyzed asymmetric reduction of benzils to either benzoins or hydrobenzoins: pH dependent switch

Enantiopure benzoins and hydrobenzoins are precursors of various pharmaceuticals and biologically active compounds. In addition, hydrobenzoins are precursors of chiral ligands and auxiliaries in stereoselective organic synthesis. Biocatalytic reduction of benzils is a straightforward approach to prepare these molecules. However, known methods are not selective and lead to formation of a mixture of benzoin and hydrobenzoin, requiring expensive separation procedures. Here, we describe an enzyme system Talaromyces flavus, which exhibited excellent pH dependent selectivity for the conversion of benzil to either benzoin or hydrobenzion in high ee. Thus, (S)-benzoin was the exclusive product at pH 5.0 (ee >99%), whereas at pH 7.0, (S,S)-hydrobenzoin (ee >99%, dl/meso 97 : 3) was the exclusive product. The observed pH dependent selectivity was shown to be due to the presence of multiple enzymes in Talaromyces flavus, which specifically accepted either benzil or benzoin as a substrate and exhibited different pH profiles of their activity. The biocatalyst efficiently reduced a variety of symmetrical and unsymmetrical benzils. Moreover, a 36.4 kDa benzoin reductase was purified, the N-terminal sequence of which did not show a significant similarity to any of the known reductase/dehydrogenase in the database. The protein therefore appears to be a novel reductase.

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Protonation for Photoreduction of Activated Ketones and Ketimines Induced by Visible Light

The first catalytic asymmetric photoreduction of 1,2-diketones and α-keto ketimines under visible light irradiation is reported. A transition-metal-free synergistic catalysis platform harnessing dicyanopyrazine-derived chromophore (DPZ) as the photoredox catalyst and a non-covalent chiral organocatalyst is effective for these transformations. With the flexible use of a chiral Br?nsted acid or base in H+ transfer interchange to control the elusive enantioselective protonation, a variety of chiral α-hydroxy ketones and α-amino ketones were obtained with high yields and enantioselectivities.

Solvent-Free Benzoin and Stetter Reactions with a Small Amount of NHC Catalyst in the Liquid or Semisolid State

The intermolecular or intramolecular asymmetric benzoin reaction was catalyzed by a small amount of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) (0.2-1 mol %) under solvent-free conditions. The solvent-free intramolecular asymmetric Stetter reaction also proceeded efficiently with NHC (0.2-1 mol %). In some cases, even solid-to-solid or solid-to-liquid conversions took place with low catalyst loading (0.2-1 mol %).

Base-Free Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of 1,2-Di- and Monoketones Catalyzed by a (NH)2P2-Macrocyclic Iron(II) Hydride

The hydride isonitrile complex [FeH(CNCEt3)(1 a)]BF4 (2) containing a chiral P2(NH)2 macrocycle (1 a), in the presence of 2-propanol as hydrogen donor, catalyzes the base-free asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of prostereogenic ketones to alcohols and the hemihydrogenation of benzils to benzoins, which contain a base-labile stereocenter. Benzoins are formed in up to 83 % isolated yield with enantioselectivity reaching 95 % ee. Ketones give the same enantioselectivity observed with the parent catalytic system [Fe(CNCEt3)2(1 a)] (3 a) that operates with added NaOtBu.

Chiral Frustrated Lewis Pairs Catalyzed Highly Enantioselective Hydrosilylations of 1,2-Dicarbonyl Compounds

A highly enantioselective hydrosilylation of 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds was successfully realized for the first time utilizing the combination of tricyclohexylphosphine and chiral alkenylborane derived in situ from diyne as a frustrated Lewis pair catalyst. A variety of optically active α-hydroxy ketones and esters were obtained in 52-98% yields with 86-99% ee's.

A tailor-made chimeric thiamine diphosphate dependent enzyme for the direct asymmetric synthesis of (S)-benzoins

Thiamine diphosphate dependent enzymes are well known for catalyzing the asymmetric synthesis of chiral α-hydroxy ketones from simple prochiral substrates. The steric and chemical properties of the enzyme active site define the product spectrum. Enzymes catalyzing the carboligation of aromatic aldehydes to (S)-benzoins have not so far been identified. We were able to close this gap by constructing a chimeric enzyme, which catalyzes the synthesis of various (S)-benzoins with excellent enantiomeric excess (>99) and very good conversion. Hybrid vigor: Combining the active-site characteristics of two thiamine diphosphate (ThDP) dependent enzymes solved the long-standing problem of enzymatic asymmetric (S)-benzoin synthesis starting from commercially available benzaldehydes. The resulting rationally designed hybrid enzyme provides access to various (S)-benzoins with excellent enantiomeric excess and good conversion.

Chiral Zn-catalyzed aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution of α-hydroxy ketones

The aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution of racemic α-hydroxy ketones was accomplished using a chiral Zn-quinine complex as the catalyst in the presence of molecular oxygen. The resulting optimized reaction conditions were applied to resolute different types of racemic α-hydroxy ketones and a maximum of 9.2 selectivity (s) was obtained with 88% ee for the recovered α-hydroxy ketone.

Chiral cobalt-catalyzed enantiomer-differentiating oxidation of racemic benzoins by using molecular oxygen as stoichiometric oxidant

A study was conducted to demonstrate chiral cobalt-catalyzed enantiomer-differentiating oxidation of racemic benzoins using molecular oxygen as stoichiometric oxidant. The cobalt-catalyzed asymmetric oxidation was performed with racemic benzoins due to th

Galactose oxidase model: Biomimetic enantiomer-differentiating oxidation of alcohols by a chiral copper complex

An enantiopure analogue of galactose oxidase (GO) was synthesized from an easily and readily available source with a similar activity of GO's in primary alcohol oxidation and enantioselective catalysts for aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution (AORK) of racemic secondary alcohols. Enantiopure (R)-binam was treated with Cu(OTf)2 in toluene at room temperature for one hour to give a (R)-binam-Cu complex. It is found that enantiopure benzoin is an important intermediate in the synthesis of a potent anticancer agent and can been synthesized by enzymatic hydrolysis with benzaldehyde lyase (BAL). The S enantiomer of the racemate is oxidized faster to the corresponding benzil and the slow-reacting R enentiomer of benzoin is recovered in an enantiomerically enriched form. It is also observed that ortho substitution reduces the rate of reaction, while a reduced enentioselectivity is observed in case of ortho-substituted benzoin.