Deracemisation of aryl substituted α-hydroxy esters using Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330: effect of substrate structure and mechanism

Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330 was found to be an efficient biocatalyst for the deracemisation of aryl α-hydroxy esters (65–85% yield and 90–99% ee). A variety of aryl and aryl substituted α-hydroxy esters were synthesized to reflect steric and electronic effects on biocatalytic deracemisation. The mechanism of this biocatalytic deracemisation was found to be stereoinversion.