Biocatalysis And Biotransformation, cilt.38, ss.1-7, 2020 (SCI-Expanded)
Aromatic a-halohydrins, particularly 2-haloethanols as significant precursor of drugs, can easily
be converted to chiral b-adrenergic receptor blockers. Eight strains of Lactobacillus curvatus
were tested as biocatalysts for asymmetric reduction of 2-bromo-1-(naphthalen-2-yl)ethanone 1
to 2-bromo-1- (naphthalen-2-yl) ethanol 2. The parameters of the bioreduction were optimized
using L. curvatus N4, the best biocatalyst found. As a result, (R)-2-bromo-1-(naphthalen-2-yl)ethanol 2, which can be b-adrenergic receptor blocker precursor, was produced for the first time in
high yield and enantiomerically pure form using biocatalysts. Moreover, the gram scale synthesis
was performed and 7.54 g of (R)-2 was synthesized as enantiopure form (enantiomeric excess
>99%) in 48 h. The important advantages of this process are that it produces of (R)-2 for the
first time in enantiopure form, in excellent yield and under environmentally friendly and moderate reaction conditions. This system is of the potential to be applied at a commercial scale.