Combining Photochemical Oxyfunctionalization and Enzymatic Catalysis for the Synthesis of Chiral Pyrrolidines and Azepanes

Abstract

Chiral heterocyclic alcohols and amines are frequently used building blocks in the synthesis of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Herein, we report a one-pot photoenzymatic synthesis route for N-Boc-3-amino/hydroxy-pyrrolidine and N-Boc-4-amino/hydroxy-azepane with up to 90% conversions and >99% enantiomeric excess. The transformation combines a photochemical oxyfunctionalization favored for distal C–H positions with a stereoselective enzymatic transamination or carbonyl reduction step. Our study demonstrates a mild and operationally simple asymmetric synthesis workflow from easily available starting materials.