Fuhshuku_2011_J.Biotechnol_153_153

Both enantiomers of beta-nitro alcohols are versatile chiral building blocks. However, their synthesis using enzymes as catalysts has received little attention, with the exception of (S)-beta-nitro alcohols produced in a reaction catalyzed by an S-selective hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) from Hevea brasiliensis (HbHNL). An R-selective HNL containing an alpha/beta-hydrolase fold from the noncyanogenic plant Arabidopsis thaliana (AtHNL) accepts nitromethane (MeNO(2)) as a donor in a reaction with aromatic aldehydes to yield (R)-beta-nitro alcohols (Henry reaction; nitro aldol reaction). This reaction proceeded in an aqueous-organic biphasic system. The organic solvent giving the highest enantioselectivity was n-butyl acetate (AcOBu) with an optimum aqueous phase content of 50% (v/v). This is the first example of the R-HNL-catalyzed synthesis of (R)-beta-nitro alcohols.