Cordyceps fungus-mediated enantioselective synthesis of chiral alcohol and enhanced biocatalytic efficiency in cyclodextrin/surfactant-buffer system

Asymmetric synthesis of chiral alcohols by biocatalysts holds promising prospect. In this study, a medicinal Cordyceps fungus, namely Tolypocladium inflatum, was adopted as a novel biocatalyst for the synthesis of chiral alcohols. Among the assessed prochiral ketone substrates, T. inflatum exhibited the best catalytic activity towards 1-(4-bromophenyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethanone (BPFO), yielding a valuable pharmaceutical intermediate (S)-1-(4-bromophenyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol ((S)-BPFL) with >99.9 % enantiomeric excesses (ee). For more efficient biosynthesis of (S)-BPFL, cyclodextrins or surfactants were introduced to the reaction system as additives to strengthen this bioprocess. Among which methyl beta-cyclodextrin (MCD) improved cell membrane permeability and alleviated product inhibition, while Triton X-100 enhanced BPFO solubility. Furthermore, synergistic promotion for BPFO bioreduction by MCD and Triton X-100 was observed. Under the optimal reaction conditions, 50 mM BPFO was converted into (S)-BPFL with 89.1 % yield and >99.9 % ee in 12 h, showing 16-fold increase of space-time yield in the developed MCD/Triton X-100-buffer system compared to neat buffer solution. This study illustrated the potential of the enantioselective preparation of chiral alcohols mediated by Cordyceps fungus. Additionally, the biocatalytic efficiency was significantly improved in the constructed synergistic reaction system, and the underlying mechanism was also explored.