One-pot synthesis of chiral N-arylamines by combining biocatalytic aminations with Buchwald-Hartwig N-arylation.

The combination of biocatalysis and chemo-catalysis increasingly offers chemists access to more diverse chemical architectures. Here, we describe the combination of a toolbox of chiral amine producing biocatalysts with a Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reaction, affording a variety of a-chiral aniline derivatives. The use of a surfactant allowed reactions to be performed sequentially in the same flask, preventing the palladium catalyst being inhibited by the high concentrations of ammonia, salts or buffers present in the aqueous media in most cases. The methodology was further extended by combining with a dual-enzyme biocatalytic borrowing hydrogen cascade in one-pot, to allow for the conversion of a racemic alcohol to a chiral aniline.