Organic Letters 2003-10-02

An efficient and selective enzymatic oxidation system for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure D-tert-leucine.

Werner Hummel, Mutlu Kuzu, Birgit Geueke

Index: Org. Lett. 5(20) , 3649-50, (2003)

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Abstract

[reaction: see text] d-tert-Leucine was prepared with an enantiomeric excess of >99% by an enzyme-catalyzed oxidative resolution of the racemic mixture of dl-tert-leucine with use of leucine dehydrogenase. The l-amino acid was oxidized completely due to coupling of the primary reaction with a highly efficient irreversible NAD(+)-regenerating step by NADH oxidase.