ChemInform Abstract: Microbial Reduction of 2-Keto Acetals as a Biocatalytic Approach to the Enantioselective Synthesis of Optically Active 2-Hydroxy Acetals

The reduction of the 2-keto acetals 1a and 1b by means of different microorganisms constitutes the biocatalytic access to optically active (46 to 100% ee) 2-hydroxy acetals, (S)-2a or (R)- and (S)-2b, representative compounds of a class of synthetically useful chiral building blocks.