Chemo- and Stereoselective Reduction of an α-Cyanoketone by Bakers' Yeast at Low Temperature
- 23 November 1999
- journal article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Organic Letters
- Vol. 1 (12) , 1879-1880
- https://doi.org/10.1021/ol990833y
Abstract
The bakers' yeast mediated reduction of 3-oxo-3-phenylpropanenitrile (1) proceeds at 4 °C to give exclusively (S)-3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanenitrile (3) in 59% yield. This is in contrast to the corresponding reaction at room temperature which yields a mixture of reduction and alkylation products. This work demonstrates the use of low temperature to improve yeast selectivity.Keywords
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