Cover Feature: Easy Access to Enantiopure (S)- and (R)-Aryl Alkyl Alcohols by a Combination of Gold(III)-Catalyzed Alkyne Hydration and Enzymatic Reduction (ChemCatChem 5/2018)

Patricia Schaaf, Vladimir Gojic, Thomas Bayer, Florian Rudroff, Michael Schnürch, Marko D. Mihovilovic

Index: 10.1002/cctc.201800272

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Abstract

The Cover Feature shows the combination of a gold-catalyzed hydration and a biocatalytic reduction step leading to chiral aryl-ethyl alcohols in excellent optical purity. In their Communication, P. Schaaf et al. demonstrate that this sequence can be conducted without intermediate work-up and purification if the biocatalyst is added after completion of the hydration step. Because the metal catalyst is not removed, it is shown that gold is well-tolerated by the enzyme. Additionally, using either (S)- or (R)-selective alcohol dehydrogenase, both enantiomers of the alcohol product can be obtained in >99% ee. By providing also a preparative scale experiment the authors have put forward a highly attractive perspective regarding the production of enantiopure compounds.