METHOD FOR BIOTECHNOLOGICALLY PREPARING OPTICALLY ACTIVE ALPHA-CYANO-3-PHENOXYBENZYL ALCOHOL

摘要

(S)- alpha -cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol, which is the alcohol moiety of pyrethroids, effective insecticides, is prepared by reacting an ester of racemic (R,S)- alpha -cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol with an esterase, wherein the ester of (S)- alpha -cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol is predominantly hydrolyzed. Thus, asymmetric hydrolysis permits optical resolution of the (S)-isomer alcohol from the ester of its antipode efficiently. The esterase may be of microorganism or animal pancreas or liver.