Baker's yeast mediated biohydrogenation of unsaturated compounds containing a methylene group: enantioselective preparation of 2-methyl alkanols from 2-substituted acrolein acetals

Abstract The baker's yeast mediated biohydrogenation of unsaturated compounds containing a methylene group may constitute an enantioselective biocatalytic approach to the preparation of 2-methyl-1-alkanols, as exemplified by the reduction of the compounds 8a – d to 90–98% enantiomerically pure alcohols 2a – d .