(S)-selective dynamic kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols by the combination of subtilisin and an aminocyclopentadienylruthenium complex as the catalysts.

A new procedure for the dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) of racemic alcohols into single enantiomers is described. This procedure employs surfactant-treated subtilisin as an (S)-selective resolving catalyst and an aminocyclopentadienylruthenium complex as a racemizing catalyst. The DKR is performed best in the presence of an acyl donor such as trifluoroethyl butyrate in THF at room temperature. Eight simple secondary alcohols have been efficiently resolved with high optical purities and good yields. The subtilisin-based DKR is complementary in stereoselectivity to its lipase-based counterpart. For an acyl-carrying alcohol, both subtilisin- and lipase-based DKRs have proceeded equally well to give a pair of enantiomeric products (>99.5% ee each) with opposite optical rotations in high yields (94-95%).