Preparation of key intermediates of adrenergic receptor agonists: Highly enantioselective production of (R)-α-halohydrins with Saccharomyces cerevisiae CGMCC 2.396

In our effort to screen for strains producing carbonyl reductases with high activity and enantioselectivity, Saccharomyces cerevisiae CGMCC 2.396 was found to be able to catalyze the biotransformation of a series of α-haloacetophenones to Prelogʹs configurated alcohols in excellent optical purity (>99% ee). The optimal reaction condition was obtained after the investigation of various crucial factors. Under the optimal condition, the product was obtained with high yield (97%) and excellent enantioselectivity (>99% ee). The usefulness of this strain has been further demonstrated by the synthesis of several (R)-α-halohydrins (>99% ee) of pharmaceutical importance.