Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of ethyl (R)-2-benzyloxy-2-isopropylhydrogenmalonate: a useful combination of chemical synthesis with enzymatic methods.

Ethyl (R)-2-benzyloxy-2-isopropylhydrogenmalonate is a key intermediate for the synthesis of the side chain in ergopeptines. In this work, we adopted a method to prepare enantiomerically pure title monoester via immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435)-catalyzed hydrolysis of the corresponding diester.