Asymmetric reduction of prochiral aromatic and hetero aromatic ketones using whole-cell of Lactobacillus senmaizukei biocatalyst

Asymmetric bioreduction of aromatic and heteroaromatic ketones is an important process in the production of precursors of biologically active molecules. In this study, the bioreduction of aromatic and hetero aromatic prochiral ketones into optically active alcohols was investigated using Lactobacillus senmaizukei as a whole-cell catalyst, since whole-cells are less expensive than pure enzymes. The study indicates enantioselective bioreduction of various substituted aromatic ketones (1–16) to the corresponding (R)-and (S)-chiral secondary alcohols (1a–16a) in low to excellent enantioselectivity (6–94%) with good yields (58–95%). In addition, heteroaromatic prochiral ketones 1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethanone (17) and 1-(furan-2-yl)ethanone (18) were reduced to (R)-17a and (R)-18a in enantiopure form with excellent conversion (>99%) and yields. These findings show that L. senmaizukei is a very important biocatalyst for asymmetric reduction of both 6-membered and 5-member heteroaromatic methyl ketones. This method promising a green synthesis for the synthesis of biologically important secondary chiral alcohols in an environmentally friendly and inexpensive process.