• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.5 s.72
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• pp.772-778
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• 2005

Chiral epoxides are important chiral synthons in organic synthesis for the production of chiral pharmaceuticals and functional food additives. Chiral epoxides can be synthesized by enantioselective introduction of oxygen to double bond of substrate by monooxygenase. Peroxidase also carry out asymmetric epoxidation of alkene in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Kinetic resolution of racemic epoxides via enantioselective hydrolysis reaction by epoxide hydrolase (EH) is a very promising method since chiral epoxides with a high optical purity can be obtained from cheap and readily available racemic epoxides. In this review, various biocatalytic approaches for the production of chiral epoxides with several examples are presented and their commercial potential is discussed.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.167-179
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• 2005

Chiral epoxides are highly valuable intermediates, used for the synthesis of pharmaceutical drugs and agrochemicals. They have broad scope of market demand because of their applications. A major challenge in modern organic chemistry is to generate such compounds in high yields, with high stereo- and regio-selectivities. Epoxide hydrolases (EH) are promising biocatalysts for the preparation of chiral epoxides and vicinal diols. They exhibit high enantioselectivity for their substrates, and can be effectively used in the resolution of racemic epoxides through enantioselective hydrolysis. The selective hydrolysis of a racemic epoxide can produce both the corresponding diols and the unreacted epoxides with high enantiomeric excess (ee) value. The potential of microbial EH to produce chiral epoxides and vicinal diol has prompted researchers to explore their use in the synthesis of epoxides and diols with high ee values.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.291-296
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• 1999

Chiral epoxides are key intermediates for the production of chiral pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and functional food additives. Chiral epoxides can be produced by either chemical or biological method. In biocatalytic production routes, chiral epoxides can be produced via epoxidations of prochiral alkenes by monooxygenase or peroxidase. Kinetic resolution of racemic epoxides using whole cells of bacteria or fungi might be commercially useful, since it is possible to obtain chiral epoxides with high optical purities from relatively cheap and readily avaiable racemic epoxides. Some bioprocesses already are commercially developed: the biocatalytic production of chiral epichlorohydrin via microbial stereospecific dehalogenation, and lipase-catalyzed enantioselective hydrolysis in a hollow fiber membrane bioreactor for the production of chiral methyl trans-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)glycidate. the intermediate for calcium antagonist diltiazem. The importance of biocatalytic production of chiral epoxides with several examples from literature are presented.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.1023-1025
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• 2003

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1553-1561
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• 2007

The new type of heterometallic chiral polymer salen complexes have been synthesized and it has been found that group 13 metal salts (AlCl3, GaCl3 and InCl3) combined to cobalt salen unit played the crucial role in the asymmetric kinetic resolution of racemic epoxides. Polymeric salen catalysts showed very high reactivity and enantioselectivity for the asymmetric ring opening of terminal epoxide with diverse nucleophiles. They provide the enantiopure useful chiral intermediates such as chiral terminal epoxides and α -aryloxy alcohols in one-step process. An efficient methodology for providing very high enantioselectivity can be achieved in the synthesis of valuable chiral building blocks via our catalytic system by combination of various asymmetric ring opening reactions.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.562-567
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• 2007

The stereoselective synthesis of chiral terminal epoxide is of immense academic and industrial interest due to their use as versatile starting materials as well as chiral intermediates. In this study, new polymeric chiral Co(salen) complexes bearing tallium (III)chloride and iron (III)chloride (ferric chloride) have been synthesized and characterized. Their catalytic activity and selectivity have been demonstrated for the asymmetric ring opening of various terminal epoxides using water and phenol derivatives as nucleophiles. The easily prepared polymeric complexes exhibited very high enantioselectivity for the asymmetric ring opening of epoxides with $H_2O$ and phenol nucleophiles, providing enantiomerically enriched terminal epoxides (> 98% ee). The system described in this work is very efficient for the synthesis of chiral epoxide, 1,2-diol and ${\alpha}$-aryloxy alcohol intermediates.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.321-325
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• 2002

Chiral epoxides are valuable intermediates for the asymmetric synthesis of enantiopure bioactive compounds. Microbial epoxide hydrolases (EHs) are newly discovered enzymes and versatile biocatalysts for the preparation of chiral epoxides by enantioselective hydrolysis of cheap and easily available racemic epoxide substrates. EHs are commercially potential biocatalysts due to their characteristics such as high enantioselectivity, cofactor-independent catalysis, and easy-to-Prepare catalysts. In this Paper, recent progresses in biochemistry and molecular biology of EH and developments of novel reaction systems are reviewed to evaluate the commercial feasibility of EH-catalyzed hydrolytic kinetic resolution for the production of chiral epoxides.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.218-226
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• 2007

The stereoselective synthesis of chiral terminal epoxides is of immense academic and industrial interest due to their utility as versatile starting materials as well as chiral intermediates. In this study, new dinuclear chiral Co (salen) complexes bearing gallium-, indium- and tallium-chloride have been synthesized and characterized. The mass and EXAFS spectra provided the direct evidence of formation of dinuclear complex. Their catalytic activity and selectivity have been demonstrated for the asymmetric ring opening of various terminal epoxides having ether or ester groups by hydrolytic kinetic resolution technology. The easily prepared dimeric complexes exhibited very high enantioselectivity for the asymmetric ring opening of epoxides with $H_2O$ nucleophile, providing enantiomerically enriched terminal epoxides (> 99% ee). The dimeric structured chiral salen showed remarkably enhanced reactivity and may be employed substantially lower loadings than its monomeric analogues. The system described in this work is very efficient for the synthesis of chiral epoxide and 1,2-diol intermediates

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.630-635
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• 2007

New chiral Co-salen complexes with one $C_3-^tBu$ group in the structure have been synthesized and applied as a chiral catalyst. A dimeric chiral salen having aluminum group metal salts such as $AlCl_3$ displayed very high catalytic reactivity and enantioselectivity for the asymmetric ring opening of epoxides to synthesize optically pure ${\alpha}$-aryloxy alcohols via phenolic kinetic resolution. The salen complexes immobilized on the inorganic support were also used as effective catalysts in that reaction. The identity of metal salts in the new chiral salen complex has proved to be important in the enantioselective reactions.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1771-1777
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• 2009

The homogeneous B$F_3$ containing chiral Co(III) salen complexes were anchored non-covalently on the surfaces of mesoporous SBA-16 silica containing aluminum species. The Brönsted and Lewis acidic sites are attributed to the immobilization of fluorine functionalized chiral salen complexes on the supports. The FT-IR, UV, ESCA, and NMR analyses were performed to determine the structure of synthesized chiral salen catalysts. These heterogeneous catalysts could be applied in asymmetric ring opening of terminal epoxides by water and phenol derivatives. They showed very high enantioselectivity and yield more than 98% in the catalytic synthesis of optically active products.