First Novozym 435 lipase-catalyzed Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction in the presence of amides

The first Novozym 435 lipase-catalyzed Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction with amides as co-catalyst was realized. Results showed that neither Novozym 435 nor amide can independently catalyze the reaction. This co-catalytic system that used a catalytic amount of Novozym 435 with a corresponding amount of amide was established and optimized. The MBH reaction strongly depended on the structure of aldehyde substrate, amide co-catalyst, and reaction additives. The optimized reaction yield (43.4%) was achieved in the Novozym 435-catalyzed MBH reaction of 2, 4-dinitrobenzaldehyde and cyclohexenone with isonicotinamide as co-catalyst and beta-cyclodextrin as additive only in 2 days. Although enantioselectivity of Novozym 435 was not found, the results were still significant because an MBH reaction using lipase as biocatalyst was realized for the first time. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.