Biocatalytic route for the synthesis of active pharmaceutical diol: A greener approach

Abstract

<i>Candida viswanathii </i>was employed for the synthesis of an active pharmaceutical diol from epoxide. Studies on the culture conditions for the production of epoxide hydrolase by <i>C. viswanathii </i>revealed that cultivation temperature of 30°C and medium <i>p</i>H 7 enhanced the enzyme production. The reaction conditions for the epoxide hydrolysis were optimized and the optimal temperature and <i>p</i>H were found to be 30°C and 8, respectively. The optimized reaction time and mixing rate were 15 h and 200 rpm, respectively. Ethanol was found to be a good co-solvent. More than 90% conversion was obtained with these optimized conditions. The product formation progress was monitored by HPLC; the product was characterized by NMR and MASS spectroscopy.