Enzymatic Resolution of cis‐Dimethyl‐1‐acetylpiperidine‐2,3‐dicarboxylate for the Preparation of a Moxifloxacin Building Block

Abstract

AbstractThis work presents the enantioselective resolution of a water‐soluble racemic mixture of cis‐dimethyl 1‐acetylpiperidine‐2,3‐dicarboxylate catalyzed by Candida antarctica lipase B. The separation of the carboxylic acid product in its (2R,3S) configuration from non‐reacted substrate in the (2S,3R) configuration was easily obtained by organic phase extraction. The latter molecule can be used as an enantiomerically pure precursor in the synthesis of (4aS,7aS)‐octahydro‐1H‐pyrrolo[3,4‐b]pyridine, an expensive building block in the production of the antibiotic Moxifloxacin. On the other hand, the hydrolyzed product in the (2R,3S) configuration can be used for the preparation of a neuromediator analogue. The lipase demonstrated enantioselectivity towards the (2R,3S) substrate enantiomer and regioselectivity towards the ester in position 3 of the molecule. Studies of hydrolysis kinetics and the use of the immobilized enzyme were performed to evaluate its industrial application.