Biocatalytic route for the synthesis of active pharmaceutical diol: A greener approach

Candida viswanathii was employed for the synthesis of an active pharmaceutical diol from epoxide. Studies on the culture conditions for the production of epoxide hydrolase by C. viswanathii revealed that cultivation temperature of 30°C and medium pH 7 enhanced the enzyme production. The reaction conditions for the epoxide hydrolysis were optimized and the optimal temperature and pH were found to be 30°C and 8, respectively. The optimized reaction time and mixing rate were 15 h and 200 rpm, respectively. Ethanol was found to be a good co-solvent. More than 90% conversion was obtained with these optimized conditions. The product formation progress was monitored by HPLC; the product was characterized by NMR and MASS spectroscopy.