A zopiclona (ZO) é um fármaco quiral extensivamente metabolizado em N-desmetilzopiclona (N-Des) e zopiclona-N-óxido (N-Ox). A (S)-N-Des apresenta atividade ansiolítica, o que indica que este metabólito possui potencial para ser empregado no tratamento da ansiedade. Uma alternativa para obtenção deste metabólito pode ser a biotransformação empregando fungos como agentes catalisadores. Dessa forma, o objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar o potencial de fungos em realizar o metabolismo da ZO em seu metabólito N-Des assim como verificar a enantiosseletividade desse processo. A análise da ZO e seus metabólitos em meio de cultura líquido proveniente do estudo de biotransformação foi realizada por eletroforese capilar (CE) e a microextração líquido-líquido dispersiva (DLLME) foi empregada como técnica de preparo de amostras. As análises por CE foram realizadas empregando uma solução tampão fosfato de sódio 50 mmol L-1 pH 2,5 acrescido de 0,5% (m/v) de carboximetil--cilcodextrina com tensão constante de +25 kV e temperatura do capilar de 20ºC. A condição estabelecida para extração por DLLME foi: 2 mL de meio de cultura líquido Czapek, 2 mL de solução tampão tris-HCl 0,1 mol L-1 pH 9,5, clorofórmio (100 µL) e metanol (300 µL) como solventes extrator e dispersor, respectivamente. Anterior aos estudos de biotransformação, o método foi validado seguindo as exigências do EMA e ANVISA para análise de fármacos em matrizes biológicas. O método foi linear no intervalo de concentração de 90-6000 ng mL-1 para cada enantiômero da ZO (r > 0,999) e 50-1000 ng mL-1 para cada enantiômero da N-Des (r > 0,998); a recuperação absoluta média foi de 52% para N-Des e 83% para ZO. Os demais parâmetros, como precisão, exatidão, seletividade e estabilidade apresentaram-se dentro das normas exigidas. O estudo de biotransformação foi realizado com os fungos Penicillium crustosum, Aspergillus fumigatus, Nigrospora sphaerica (Sacc.) E.W. Mason, Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor rouxii, Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B e Cunninghamella echinulata var elegans ATCC 8688A. Entre esses fungos avaliados, os fungos Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B e Cunninghamella echinulata var elegans ATCC 8688A foram capazes de biotransformar a ZO para seu metabólito ativo N-Des. Utilizando o fungo Cunninghamella echinulata var. elegans ATCC 8688A, após 360 horas de incubação foi obtida uma concentração máxima de (-)-(R)-N-Des e (+)-(S)-N-Des de 508 ng mL-1 e 221 ng mL-1, respectivamente com excesso enantiomérico de 39%. O fungo Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B formou preferencialmente o metabolito (+)-(S)-N-Des. Após 240 horas de incubação, a concentração dos metabólitos (-)-(R)-N-Des e (+)-(S)-N-Des foi 120 ng mL-1 e 228 ng mL-1, respectivamente com excesso enantiomérico de 35%. / Zopiclone (ZO) is a chiral drug extensively metabolized into N-desmethylzopiclone (N-Des) and zopiclone-N-oxide (N-Ox). Pharmacological studies showed that the metabolite (S)-N-Des presents anxiolytic activity, which indicates that this metabolite has a potential to be used in the treatment of anxiety. An alternative way for obtaining this metabolite may be the biotransformation employing fungi as catalytic agent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate if fungi are able to biotransform ZO into its active metabolite N-Des and to verify if this process is enantioselective. To perform ZO and its metabolites analysis from liquid culture medium, an enantioselective method by capillary electrophoresis (CE) and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) was developed. The CE analyses were carried out in 50 mmol L-1 sodium phosphate buffer pH 2.5 containing 0.5% (w/v) carboxymethyl--CD with a constant voltage of +25 kV and capillary temperature of 20ºC. The extraction conditions established for DLLME were: 2 mL of sample (pH adjusted using 2 mL of 0.1 mol L-1 tris-HCl buffer pH 9.5), chloroform (100 µL) and methanol (300 µL) as extraction and disperser solvent, respectively. Before the biotransformation study, the method was validated according to EMA and ANVISA guidelines for analysis of drug and metabolites in biological matrices. The method was linear over a concentration range of 90-6000 ng mL-1 for each ZO enantiomer (r > 0.999) and 50-1000 ng mL-1 for each N-Des enantiomer (r > 0.998); the absolute recovery was 52% for N-Des and 83% for ZO. Other parameters, such as: accuracy, precision, selectivity and stability were all in agreement with guideline. The developed method was employed in biotransformation studies using the following fungi: Penicillium crustosum, Aspergillus fumigatus, Nigrospora sphaerica (Sacc.) E.W. Mason, Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor rouxii, Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B and Cunninghamella echinulata var elegans ATCC 8688A. Among all evaluated fungi, Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B and Cunninghamella echinulata var elegans ATCC 8688A were able to biotransform the ZO to its active metabolite N-Des. Using the fungus Cunninghamella echinulata var. elegans ATCC 8688A, after 360 hours of incubation it was obtained a maximum concentration of (-)-(R)-N-Des and (+)-(S)-N-Des of 508 ng mL-1 and 221 ng mL-1, respectively with an enantiomeric excess of 39%. The fungus Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B formed preferentially the metabolite (+)-(S)-N-Des. After 240 hours of incubation, the concentration of metabolites (-)-(R)-N-Des and (+)-(S)-N-Des was 120 ng mL-1 and 228 ng mL-1, respectively with enantiomeric excess of 35%.

A series of new cobalt(II) beta-keto iminato complexes and cobalt(II) salens have been made and the effect of chirality in the northern, southern and peripheral quadrants of these catalysts, with respect to induced enantiomeric excess, during the ring-opening of 1,2-dioxines has been determined. Synthesis of a series of cobalt beta-keto iminato complexes was achieved after modification of literature procedures used for the synthesis of manganese beta-keto iminato complexes and this procedure was applied to generate ligands with ethyl, t-butyl, (-)-bornyl, (+)-menthyl and (-)-menthyl esters and a methyl side chain. Synthesis of the cobalt salens was also achieved using a modified literature procedure, in respect to the more complex aldehydes made. It was ascertained that chirality in the northern quadrant of these catalysts, obtained by the use of optically pure diamines, was of greatest importance in introducing enantiomeric excess into the products of ring-opening of 1,2-dioxines; namely gamma-hydroxy enones, and chirality in the southern and peripheral quadrants was of lesser, although still significant, importance. The reaction conditions were optimised and the conditions under which the highest enantiomeric excess was introduced were determined. The ideal solvent for the ring-opening was found to be THF with a catalyst concentration between 5 and 10 mol% at a temperature of -15oC. These conditions were found to be applicable to all catalysts and 1,2-dioxines tested. Enantiomeric excess as high as 76 % could be introduced when the optimised reaction conditions were used in large scale syntheses of cyclopropane (61). LC-MS studies indicate the presence of a solvent chelated species present in the reaction mixture when the solvent used is THF, however, the use of non-chelating solvents, such as dichloromethane, did not exhibit this same solvent chelated species. Catalyst dimers were also present in the mixture when analysed by LC-MS. The presence of oxygen in the reaction mixture was found to inhibit rearrangement of the dioxine with catalyst oxygen dimers (two molecules of catalyst bound to a single molecule of oxygen) present when analysed by LC-MS, however, the catalyst could be 're-activated' by de-aeration of the solution and was able to introduce the same enantiomeric excess, as prior to the addition of oxygen was unaffected. It was found that not only cobalt(II) tetradentate complexes were useful in the ring-opening of meso 1,2-dioxines. Achiral iron(II) salen and ruthenium(II) salen were also made and shown to be capable of ring-opening the dioxine. A purchased chiral manganese(III) salen was also shown to be capable of ring-opening the 1,2-dioxine, however, the time taken for the rearrangement to occur led to ring closure of the gamma-hydroxy enone and dehydration of the cyclic hemiacetal. The catalysts were also applied to the enantioselective ring-opening of epoxy-1,2-dioxines for the first time with a high level of success with enantiomeric excesses of between 60 and 90 % introduced with most of the catalysts. To show that these catalysts have the potential for use in the synthesis of potentially bioactive cyclopropyl amino acids, amines, acids and alcohols a small number were prepared, including both racemic and optically enriched or optically pure cyclopropanes. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Chemistry and Physics, 2003.

Chirality is the property of objects, including molecules, which are not superimposable on their materialized mirror image. Chiral molecules are omnipresent in living organisms and the constituents of biological macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids) are chiral. Amino-acids (constituting proteins), ribose and 2-deoxy-ribose (the only chiral constituent of RNA and DNA nucleotides respectively) are furthermore generally present in living organisms only under one of their enantiomeric forms. This is referred to as the homochirality of the living world. The origin of this homochirality is still unexplained, even if many partial scenarios have been proposed in the literature. All scenarios involve the creation of a small enantiomeric excess for certain molecules, amplification of this excess and chirality transfer to other chiral molecules. The origin of homochirality on Earth is closely related to the origin of life, and is currently supposed to have preceded life. As no-one will ever be able to directly observe the phenomena which lead to homochirality, and life, on our planet, the only scientific approach to try and help explain how this occurred is to build scenarios, and test them taking into account all available information on the physical and chemical conditions on the primitive Earth (Earth before life appeared). In our work, we investigated three scenarios related to the origin of homochirality on Earth. One of these scenarios also relates to a very precise step of the origin of life: the selection of beta-d-ribofuranose as component of RNA nucleotides. Enantiomeric excesses (up to 15 %) of alpha-methylated alpha-amino-acids have been detected in meteorites which fell on Earth during the 20th century. No enantiomeric excess is detected for the corresponding alpha-hydroxy-acids in the same meteoritic samples and small (2% at most) or no enantiomeric excesses have been measured for non-methylated alpha-amino-acids. In the first part of our work, we investigated if photolysis by circularly polarized light (CPL) in space could be at the origin of the presence (or absence) of an enantiomeric excess for these compounds. Experiments to reproduce UV-CPL photolysis are difficult to undertake: they require high-energy circularly polarized photons, hence the use of a synchrotron. In our work, we used quantum mechanical calculations to obtain the electronic circular dichroïsm (ECD) spectra of two -methylated -amino-acids, their corresponding alpha-hydroxy-acids and one non-methylated alpha-amino-acid. Differences are observed between these spectra, and we propose a scenario to explain the experimental measurements reported here above: the enantioselective photolysis, in the gas phase at low temperatures (20K at most), of the alpha-amino-acids by UV-CPL with lambda>210 nm. Under these conditions no photolysis of the alpha-hydroxy-acids would occur. This scenario concerns the first step in the origin of homochirality on Earth: the creation of a small enantiomeric excess for some chiral molecules. The second scenario that we investigated relates to the enantiomeric amplification step of the origin of homochirality on Earth, for which the role of the alpha-amino-acid serine has been suggested in the literature. Serine clusters have been observed in the gas phase by mass spectrometry. Among these clusters the octamer has been shown to be a magic number cluster and to have a preference for homochirality. An enantiomeric amplification via cycles of formation and dissociation of the octamer has been suggested. No complete scenario has however been proposed in the literature to explain how this could have occurred on the primitive Earth, but any scenario would most probably include an aqueous phase. We aimed at determining if the homochiral preference of serine octamers also exists in solution and therefore we first investigated if serine octamers exist in solution. For this study, we used nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopies, which are well-adapted to the study of molecular assemblies in solution. We were able to demonstrate that most probably serine clusters are not present in solution, and if they are it could only be in extremely low concentration. The scenario suggested in the literature is discussed in the light of our results and of literature data on serine clusters. As last hypothesis, we investigated a possible scenario for the selection of beta-d-ribofuranose as component of RNA nucleotides. The currently known prebiotic synthesis pathways to ribose also lead to the formation of many other carbohydrates, and ribose is only a minor product of these syntheses. Our hypothesis is that beta-d-ribofuranose could have been selected through favorable interactions with -amino-acids already present on the primitive Earth under one enantiomeric form. Indeed, it is plausible that a peptidic world emerged before the presence of RNA and that homochiral -amino-acids were present on Earth when RNA was synthesized. Under this hypothesis, we investigated the role that alpha-l-amino-acids could have played in the selection of alpha-d-ribofuranose as component of RNA nucleotides. This work is related to the last step of the origin of homochirality: chirality transfer. Our scenario was investigated via nuclear magnetic resonance studies of the interaction between alpha-amino-acids and carbohydrates. We were able to show that, in the systems that we studied, when an interaction occurs it is very weak (affinity constant less than 1M−1) and non enantioselective. Our results most probably discard the role that alpha-amino-acids alone could have played in the selection of beta-d-ribofuranose as component of RNA nucleotides, but does not discard the role that peptides could have played in this selection.

Biocatalysis has become a popular technique in organic synthesis due to high activity and selectivity of enzyme catalyzed reactions. Enantioselectivity is a particularly attractive enzyme property, which is utilized for the production of enantiopure substances. Determination of the temperature dependence of enzyme enantioselectivity allows for thermodynamic analyses that reveal the contribution of differential activation enthalpy, ΔR-SΔH‡, and entropy, ΔR-SΔS‡. In the present investigation the influence of substrate structure, variations on enzyme structure and of reaction media on the enantioselectivity of Candida Antarctica lipase B has been studied. The contribution of enthalpy, ΔR-SΔH‡, and entropy, TΔR-SΔS‡, to the differential free energy, ΔR-SΔG‡, of kinetic resolutions of sec-alcohols were of similar magnitude. Generally the two terms were counteracting, meaning that the enantiomer favored by enthalpy was disfavored by entropy. 3-Hexanol was an exception where the preferred enantiomer was favored both by enthalpy and by entropy. Resolution of 1-bromo-2-butanol revealed non-steric interactions to influence both ΔR-SΔH‡ and ΔR-SΔS‡. Molecular modeling of the spatial freedom of the enzyme-substrate transition state indicated correlation tothe transition state entropy. The acyl chain length was shown to affect enantioselectivity in transesterifications of a sec-alcohol. Point mutations in the active site were found to decrease or increase enantioselectivity. The changes were caused by partly compensatory changes in both ΔR-SΔH‡ and ΔR-SΔS‡. Studies on single and double mutation variants showed that the observed changes were not additive. Enantioselectivity was strongly affected by the reaction media. Transesterifications of a sec-alcohol catalyzed by Candida Antarctica lipase B was studied in eight liquidorganic solvents and supercritical carbon dioxide. A correlation of enantioselectivity and the molecular volume of the solvent was found. Differential activation enthalpy, ΔR-SΔH‡, and entropy, ΔR-SΔS‡, display a compensatory nature. However this compensation is not perfect, which allows for modifications of enantioselectivity. The components of the thermodynamic parameters are highly complex and interdependent but if their roles are elucidated rational design of enantioselective enzymatic processes may be possible. / QC 20100616

Asymmetric synthesis has become an important tool to prepare enantiomerically pure compounds because it avoids the wasteful discarding of the undesired enantiomer. Combinatorial libraries allow for much faster screening for new and better asymmetric catalysts/auxiliaries, but they generate a large number of samples whose enantiomeric excess (ee) cannot be determined rapidly. This bottleneck currently limits the applicability of such approaches. We propose here the use of faster optical techniques for the determination of ee using common instrumentation, such as UV-vis spectrophotometers, and circular dichroism (CD) spectrophotometers. Our methods are easily transitioned to the microwell format commonly used in parallel/combinatorial chemistry endeavors, just by using common microplate readers: this allows for an even more rapid analysis of samples and a seamless integration in a high-throughput workflow. We have shown that enantioselective indicator displacement assays can be developed to determine ee in a high-throughput fashion utilizing either a UV-vis spectrophotometer or a 96-well plate reader. Two chiral receptors and a commercial pH indicator were used to enantioselectively discriminate α-amino acids by monitoring the degree of indicator displacement. The two receptors were able to enantioselectively discriminate 13 of the 17 analyzed α-amino acids and accurately determine ee values of independent test samples with the use of ee calibration curves. Moreover, a sample of valine was synthesized through an asymmetric reaction, whose ee was then determined with our assay and compared to chiral HPLC and 1H NMR chiral shift reagent analysis, with excellent correlation. An artificial neural network was also successfully employed in the analyses, as an alternative to ee calibration curves. Both techniques consistently produced results accurate enough for preliminary determination of ee in a rapid manner, allowing for high throughput screening (HTS) of asymmetric reactions. The use of circular dichroism spectroscopy with chiral BINAP was also explored to enantioselectively discriminate α-chiral ketones. The ketones were derivatized with pyridyl hydrazines to produce hydrazones, which were then bound to enantiomerically pure [Cu(I)(BINAP)]+, forming diastereomeric complexes with differential steric interactions leading to different degrees of twist in the BINAP moiety and characteristic signatures in the CD spectrum, as a function of sample ee. / text

A series of new cobalt(II) beta-keto iminato complexes and cobalt(II) salens have been made and the effect of chirality in the northern, southern and peripheral quadrants of these catalysts, with respect to induced enantiomeric excess, during the ring-opening of 1,2-dioxines has been determined. Synthesis of a series of cobalt beta-keto iminato complexes was achieved after modification of literature procedures used for the synthesis of manganese beta-keto iminato complexes and this procedure was applied to generate ligands with ethyl, t-butyl, (-)-bornyl, (+)-menthyl and (-)-menthyl esters and a methyl side chain. Synthesis of the cobalt salens was also achieved using a modified literature procedure, in respect to the more complex aldehydes made. It was ascertained that chirality in the northern quadrant of these catalysts, obtained by the use of optically pure diamines, was of greatest importance in introducing enantiomeric excess into the products of ring-opening of 1,2-dioxines; namely gamma-hydroxy enones, and chirality in the southern and peripheral quadrants was of lesser, although still significant, importance. The reaction conditions were optimised and the conditions under which the highest enantiomeric excess was introduced were determined. The ideal solvent for the ring-opening was found to be THF with a catalyst concentration between 5 and 10 mol% at a temperature of -15oC. These conditions were found to be applicable to all catalysts and 1,2-dioxines tested. Enantiomeric excess as high as 76 % could be introduced when the optimised reaction conditions were used in large scale syntheses of cyclopropane (61). LC-MS studies indicate the presence of a solvent chelated species present in the reaction mixture when the solvent used is THF, however, the use of non-chelating solvents, such as dichloromethane, did not exhibit this same solvent chelated species. Catalyst dimers were also present in the mixture when analysed by LC-MS. The presence of oxygen in the reaction mixture was found to inhibit rearrangement of the dioxine with catalyst oxygen dimers (two molecules of catalyst bound to a single molecule of oxygen) present when analysed by LC-MS, however, the catalyst could be 're-activated' by de-aeration of the solution and was able to introduce the same enantiomeric excess, as prior to the addition of oxygen was unaffected. It was found that not only cobalt(II) tetradentate complexes were useful in the ring-opening of meso 1,2-dioxines. Achiral iron(II) salen and ruthenium(II) salen were also made and shown to be capable of ring-opening the dioxine. A purchased chiral manganese(III) salen was also shown to be capable of ring-opening the 1,2-dioxine, however, the time taken for the rearrangement to occur led to ring closure of the gamma-hydroxy enone and dehydration of the cyclic hemiacetal. The catalysts were also applied to the enantioselective ring-opening of epoxy-1,2-dioxines for the first time with a high level of success with enantiomeric excesses of between 60 and 90 % introduced with most of the catalysts. To show that these catalysts have the potential for use in the synthesis of potentially bioactive cyclopropyl amino acids, amines, acids and alcohols a small number were prepared, including both racemic and optically enriched or optically pure cyclopropanes. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Chemistry and Physics, 2003.

A zopiclona (ZO) é um fármaco quiral extensivamente metabolizado em N-desmetilzopiclona (N-Des) e zopiclona-N-óxido (N-Ox). A (S)-N-Des apresenta atividade ansiolítica, o que indica que este metabólito possui potencial para ser empregado no tratamento da ansiedade. Uma alternativa para obtenção deste metabólito pode ser a biotransformação empregando fungos como agentes catalisadores. Dessa forma, o objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar o potencial de fungos em realizar o metabolismo da ZO em seu metabólito N-Des assim como verificar a enantiosseletividade desse processo. A análise da ZO e seus metabólitos em meio de cultura líquido proveniente do estudo de biotransformação foi realizada por eletroforese capilar (CE) e a microextração líquido-líquido dispersiva (DLLME) foi empregada como técnica de preparo de amostras. As análises por CE foram realizadas empregando uma solução tampão fosfato de sódio 50 mmol L-1 pH 2,5 acrescido de 0,5% (m/v) de carboximetil--cilcodextrina com tensão constante de +25 kV e temperatura do capilar de 20ºC. A condição estabelecida para extração por DLLME foi: 2 mL de meio de cultura líquido Czapek, 2 mL de solução tampão tris-HCl 0,1 mol L-1 pH 9,5, clorofórmio (100 µL) e metanol (300 µL) como solventes extrator e dispersor, respectivamente. Anterior aos estudos de biotransformação, o método foi validado seguindo as exigências do EMA e ANVISA para análise de fármacos em matrizes biológicas. O método foi linear no intervalo de concentração de 90-6000 ng mL-1 para cada enantiômero da ZO (r > 0,999) e 50-1000 ng mL-1 para cada enantiômero da N-Des (r > 0,998); a recuperação absoluta média foi de 52% para N-Des e 83% para ZO. Os demais parâmetros, como precisão, exatidão, seletividade e estabilidade apresentaram-se dentro das normas exigidas. O estudo de biotransformação foi realizado com os fungos Penicillium crustosum, Aspergillus fumigatus, Nigrospora sphaerica (Sacc.) E.W. Mason, Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor rouxii, Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B e Cunninghamella echinulata var elegans ATCC 8688A. Entre esses fungos avaliados, os fungos Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B e Cunninghamella echinulata var elegans ATCC 8688A foram capazes de biotransformar a ZO para seu metabólito ativo N-Des. Utilizando o fungo Cunninghamella echinulata var. elegans ATCC 8688A, após 360 horas de incubação foi obtida uma concentração máxima de (-)-(R)-N-Des e (+)-(S)-N-Des de 508 ng mL-1 e 221 ng mL-1, respectivamente com excesso enantiomérico de 39%. O fungo Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B formou preferencialmente o metabolito (+)-(S)-N-Des. Após 240 horas de incubação, a concentração dos metabólitos (-)-(R)-N-Des e (+)-(S)-N-Des foi 120 ng mL-1 e 228 ng mL-1, respectivamente com excesso enantiomérico de 35%. / Zopiclone (ZO) is a chiral drug extensively metabolized into N-desmethylzopiclone (N-Des) and zopiclone-N-oxide (N-Ox). Pharmacological studies showed that the metabolite (S)-N-Des presents anxiolytic activity, which indicates that this metabolite has a potential to be used in the treatment of anxiety. An alternative way for obtaining this metabolite may be the biotransformation employing fungi as catalytic agent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate if fungi are able to biotransform ZO into its active metabolite N-Des and to verify if this process is enantioselective. To perform ZO and its metabolites analysis from liquid culture medium, an enantioselective method by capillary electrophoresis (CE) and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) was developed. The CE analyses were carried out in 50 mmol L-1 sodium phosphate buffer pH 2.5 containing 0.5% (w/v) carboxymethyl--CD with a constant voltage of +25 kV and capillary temperature of 20ºC. The extraction conditions established for DLLME were: 2 mL of sample (pH adjusted using 2 mL of 0.1 mol L-1 tris-HCl buffer pH 9.5), chloroform (100 µL) and methanol (300 µL) as extraction and disperser solvent, respectively. Before the biotransformation study, the method was validated according to EMA and ANVISA guidelines for analysis of drug and metabolites in biological matrices. The method was linear over a concentration range of 90-6000 ng mL-1 for each ZO enantiomer (r > 0.999) and 50-1000 ng mL-1 for each N-Des enantiomer (r > 0.998); the absolute recovery was 52% for N-Des and 83% for ZO. Other parameters, such as: accuracy, precision, selectivity and stability were all in agreement with guideline. The developed method was employed in biotransformation studies using the following fungi: Penicillium crustosum, Aspergillus fumigatus, Nigrospora sphaerica (Sacc.) E.W. Mason, Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor rouxii, Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B and Cunninghamella echinulata var elegans ATCC 8688A. Among all evaluated fungi, Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B and Cunninghamella echinulata var elegans ATCC 8688A were able to biotransform the ZO to its active metabolite N-Des. Using the fungus Cunninghamella echinulata var. elegans ATCC 8688A, after 360 hours of incubation it was obtained a maximum concentration of (-)-(R)-N-Des and (+)-(S)-N-Des of 508 ng mL-1 and 221 ng mL-1, respectively with an enantiomeric excess of 39%. The fungus Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 10028B formed preferentially the metabolite (+)-(S)-N-Des. After 240 hours of incubation, the concentration of metabolites (-)-(R)-N-Des and (+)-(S)-N-Des was 120 ng mL-1 and 228 ng mL-1, respectively with enantiomeric excess of 35%.

This thesis describes, in detail, the synthesis of novel heterobidentate ligands. These ligands were subsequently used in palladium catalysed allylic substitution reactions to synthesise enantiomerically enriched alkylated products. The thesis also describes novel approaches to asymmetric catalysis, in particular asymmetric epoxidation derived from Katsuki-Sharpless methodology. Chapter 1 - This chapter reviews the literature, discussing the significant synthetic advancements in asymmetric catalysis in the past 10-15 years. Chapter 2 - This chapter describes in detail the synthesis of new heterobidentate ligands containing nitrogen and phosphorus ligating atoms. These ligands are based on imines containing enantiomerically pure asymmetric centres in an alpha position to the nitrogen moiety. Other ligands that were synthesised were derived from C2- symmetric diamines, also containing an asymmetric centre alpha position to the nitrogen, that produce ligands with the nitrogen functionality contained in a ring. Chapter 3 - This chapter describes the use of the novel ligands synthesised in Chapter 2 in palladium catalysed allylic substitution reactions. The racemic substrate, 1 ,3-diphenyl-3-acetoxy-1-propene, was alkylated to produce an enantiomeric enriched alkylated product. The alkylated product was obtained with up to 77 % enantiomeric excess. The reaction was conducted with a palladium catalyst in the presence of a novel ligand using dimethyl malonate as a nucleophile. The development and optimisation of these ligands within this reaction is discussed. Chapter 4 - This chapter discusses some novel approaches to asymmetric epoxidation. The epoxidation is based on methodology developed by Katsuki and Sharpless. This epoxidation relies on the substrate containing an up-unsaturated alcohol. The chapter discusses the use of a reversible nucleophile in the form of cyanide. The nucleophile is designed to react with a substrate to provide an upunsaturated cyanohydrin, suitable to undergo a Katsuki-Sharpless epoxidation. Once the asymmetric epoxidation is complete, the nucleophile would be removed. This chapter describes the attempts to develop the principle further. An improvement to the system would be to provide an environment capable of sustaining a dynamic kinetic resolution. Chapter 5 - This chapter contains the experimental which provides the exact details of the reactions reported in the thesis.

No description available.

The purpose of this investigation is to examine reactions of anions of oximes, oxime ethers and imines with acylating agents and other electrophiles. It is also an attempt to utilize the phenomenon of geometrical enantiomeric isomerism, in which absolute configuration is determined by double bond geometry, and the concept of regiospecific anion formation, also determined by double bond geometry, for stereospecific synthesis of tropinone derivatives.