Abstract:It has been shown that whole cells of different strains of yeast catalyze stereoselective oxidation of meso diols to the corresponding chiral lactones. Among screening-scale experiments, Candida pelliculosa ZP22 was selected as the most effective biocatalyst for the oxidation of monocyclic diols 3a-b with respect to the ratio of high conversion to stereoselectivity. This strain was used in the preparative oxidation, affording enantiomerically-enriched isomers of lactones: (+)-(3aR,7aS)-cis-hexahydro-1(3H) -isobenzofuranone (2a) and (+)-(3aS,4,7,7aR)-cis-tetrahydro-1(3H)-isobenzofuranone (2b). Scaling up the culture growth, as well as biotransformation conditions has been successfully accomplished. Among more bulky substrates, bicyclic diol 3d was totally converted into enantiomerically-pure exo-bridged (+)-(3aR,4S,7R,7aS)-cis-tetrahydro-4,7-methanoisobenzofuran -1(3H)-one (2d) by Yarrovia lipolytica AR71. Microbial oxidation of diol 3f by Candida sake AM908 and Rhodotorula rubra AM4 afforded optically-pure cis-3-butylhexahydro-1(3H) -isobenzofuranone (2f), however with low conversion.