Natural L-α-amino acids and L-norleucine were transformed to the corresponding α-hydroxy acids by formal biocatalytic inversion or retention of absolute configuration. The one-pot transformation was achieved by a concurrent oxidation reduction cascade in aqueous media. A representative panel of enantiopure (R)- and (S)-2-hydroxy acids possessing aliphatic, aromatic and heteroaromatic moieties were isolated in high yield (67-85 %) and enantiopure form (>99 % ee) without requiring chromatographic purification.
Keywords: asymmetric catalysis; biocatalysis; cascades; inversion; retention.
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