Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of new ferrocenyl-oxazolidinones and their application as chiral auxiliaries

Abstract

A chemo-enzymatic synthesis of new chiral ferrocenyl-oxazolidinones has been developed. The key step was the addition of HCN to formylferrocene catalysed by the hydroxynitrile lyase from Hevea brasiliensis, which yielded an enantiomerically pure ferrocenyl-cyanohydrine in excellent yield and ee. The ferrocenyl-oxazolidinones obtained by this strategy were tested as chiral auxiliaries for asymmetric alkylations and aldol reactions and were shown to be effective in terms of yields, stereoselectivities and cleavage conditions.