Resolution of racemates of amino acids

摘要

Racemates of optically active amino acid substituted at the carbonyl position wherein the alpha amino acid nitrogen is underivatized and can be resolved using a two phase solvent system. The racemate is dissolved in a substantially water immiscible organic material which is a solvent for said amino acid racemate but not for the corresponding amino acids. The racemate is also dissolved in water (aqueous phase) and is in equilibrium with the racemate in the organic phase. One of the optical isomers of the amino acid racemate in the aqueous phase is enzymatically hydrolyzed to the corresponding amino acid and is recovered. The preferred product is L-phenylalanine.