Benzaldehyde lyase-catalyzed diastereoselective C–C bond formation by simultaneous carboligation and kinetic resolution

Enzymes create chiral microenvironments that may simultaneously generate several stereogenic centers in the same catalytic cycle, broadening the possibilities of biocatalysis. Benzaldehyde lyase (BAL) affords highly diastereoselective α-hydroxy-ketones by simultaneously performing ligation and kinetic resolution of a racemic aldehyde. Thus, to the well-known enantioselective BAL-carboligation of aldehydes (C–C bond formation), another property, namely diastereoselectivity, is added in this paper for the first time.