Asymmetric Chemoenzymatic One-Pot Synthesis of α-Hydroxy Half-Esters.

A new chemoenzymatic one-pot strategy has been developed for the synthesis of α-hydroxy half-esters containing consecutive quaternary and tertiary stereocenters using asymmetric cascade catalysis. In this study, an asymmetric Ca-catalyzed [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement reaction was proven to be suitable for a combination with porcine liver esterase-mediated hydrolysis resulting in the enhanced enantiomeric purity of the obtained products in a one-pot synthesis compared to the stepwise method.