The Oxidation of Chiral Alcohols Catalysed by Catalase in Organic Solvents

The catalytic properties of bovine liver catalase have been investigated in organic solvents. In tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, and acetone (all containing 1% to 3% of water), the enzyme breaks down tert‐butyl hydroperoxide several fold faster than in pure water. Furthermore, the rate of catalase‐catalyzed production of tert‐butanol from tert‐butyl hydroperoxide increases more than 400‐fold upon transition from aqueous buffer to ethanol as the reaction medium. The mechanistic rationale for this striking effect is that in aqueous buffer the rate‐limiting step of the enzymatic process involves the reduction of catalase's compound I by tert‐butyl hydroperoxide. In ethanol, and additional step in the reaction scheme becomes available in which ethanol, greatly outcompeting the hydroperoxide, is oxidized by compound I regenerating the free enzyme. In solvents, such as acetonitrile or tetrahydrofuran, which themselves are not oxidizable by compound I, catalase catalyzes the oxidation of numerous primary and secondary alcohols with tert‐butyl hydroperoxide to the corresponding aldehydes or ketones. The enzymatic oxidation of some chiral alcohols (2,3‐butanediol, citronellol, and menthol) under these conditions occurs enantioselectively. Examination of the enantioselectivity for the oxidation of 2,3‐butanediol in a series of organic solvents reveals a considerable solvent dependence. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.