Ethyl Acetoacetate → ethyl (3R)-3-hydroxybutanoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Geotrichum candidum (ATCC 34614) was cultured according to the method of Buisson and Azerad (Tet. Lett. 27, 2631-2634 (1986), herein incorporated by reference) in one liter of a medium of glucose (30 grams), KH2PO4 (1 gram), K2HPO4 (2 grams), corn steep liquor (10 grams) MgSO4.7H20 (0.5 gram), NaNO3 (2 grams), FeSO4.7H20 (0.02 gram), and KC1(0.5 gram) with rotary shaking at 25° C. Two grams of ethyl acetoacetate was dissolved in 2 ml of 95% ethanol, the resulting solution was added to the culture, and shaking was resumed. The reaction was followed by TLC (staining with anisaldehyde) to monitor the consumption of starting material and the production of product alcohol. After approximately 48 hours the reaction was judged complete, and the reaction was terminated by removing from the shaker and adding 20-30 grams of Celite. The resulting suspension was suction filtered through a pad of Celite and the clear yellow filtrate was extracted with ethyl acetate (4×200 ml). The extracts were combined, dried over MgSO4, filtered, and rotary evaporated to leave 1.4 grams of (R)-ethyl 3-hydroxybutyrate as a yellow oil.

Provenance & Evidence