Enantiospecific synthesis of optically pure (S)-(+)-3-hydroxy-1-phenyl-1-butanone by bakers' yeast reduction

Abstract
Bakers' yeast reduces 1-phenyl-1,3-butanedione with high chemo- and enantio-selectivity to give (S)-(+)-3-hydroxy-1-phenyl-1-butanone. The enantiomeric purity (> 98%) was determined by nmr analysis using a chiral shift reagent and the absolute configuration was determined by correlation with ethyl (S)-(+)-3-hydroxybutyrate.