Enantioselective reduction of substituted acetophenones by Aspergillus niger

Fourteen strains of Aspergillus niger were isolated from soil samples. These isolates were evaluated for the reduction of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol. Among the tested isolates, whole cells of the A. niger EBK-9 isolate were found to be an effective biocatalyst for the enantioselective reduction of acetophenone. Under optimized conditions substituted acetophenones were converted to the corresponding optically active alcohol in up to 99% ee.