A Peroxygenase‐Alcohol Dehydrogenase Cascade Reaction to Transform Ethylbenzene Derivatives into Enantioenriched Phenylethanols
Xiaomin Xu, Hugo Brasselet, Ewald P. J. Jongkind, Miguel Alcalde, Caroline E. Paul, Frank Hollmann
Abstract
In this study, we developed a new bienzymatic reaction to produce enantioenriched phenylethanols. In a first step, the recombinant, unspecific peroxygenase from Agrocybe aegerita (rAaeUPO) was used to oxidise ethylbenzene and its derivatives to the corresponding ketones (prochiral intermediates) followed by enantioselective reduction into the desired (R)- or (S)-phenylethanols using the (R)-selective alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Lactobacillus kefir (LkADH) or the (S)-selective ADH from Rhodococcus ruber (ADH-A). In a one-pot two-step cascade, 11 ethylbenzene derivatives were converted into the corresponding chiral alcohols at acceptable yields and often excellent enantioselectivity.