Parallel Interconnected Kinetic Asymmetric Transformation (PIKAT) with an Immobilized ω-Transaminase in Neat Organic Solvent

Comprising approximately 40% of the commercially available optically active drugs, alpha-chiral amines are pivotal for pharmaceutical manufacture. In this context, the enzymatic asymmetric amination of ketones represents a more sustainable alternative than traditional chemical procedures for chiral amine synthesis. Notable advantages are higher atom-economy and selectivity, shorter synthesis routes, milder reaction conditions and the elimination of toxic catalysts. A parallel interconnected kinetic asymmetric transformation (PIKAT) is a cascade in which one or two enzymes use the same cofactor to convert two reagents into more useful products. Herein, we describe a PIKAT catalyzed by an immobilized ω-transaminase (ωTA) in neat toluene, which concurrently combines an asymmetric transamination of a ketone with an anti-parallel kinetic resolution of an amine racemate. The applicability of the PIKAT was tested on a set of prochiral ketones and racemic alpha-chiral amines in a 1:2 molar ratio, which yielded elevated conversions (up to >99 and enantiomeric excess (ee, up to >99 for the desired products. The progress of the conversion and ee was also monitored in a selected case. This is the first report of a PIKAT using an immobilized ωTA in a non-aqueous environment.