Enzyme-catalyzed resolution of aromatic ring fused cyclic tertiary alcohols

An efficient chemoenzymatic route for the synthesis of optically active aromatic ring fused cyclic tertiary alcohols (S)-(-)-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-1-ol (-)-1b and (S)-(+)-1-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ol (+)-1a has been developed. Different lipases have been tested in the transesterification of these tertiary alcohols; CAL-A (Candida antarctica Lipase A) was found to be the best biocatalyst for 1b and CAL-A-CLEA (Lipase A, C. antarctica, cross-linked enzyme aggregate) for la, obtained with ee values of 20% and 45%, respectively, and the corresponding esters 2b and 2a with the ee values of 99% and 71%, respectively. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.