Enantioselective reduction of aryl ketones using immobilized cells of Candida viswanathii

Enantioselective reduction of 1-acetonapthone to S(−)-1-(1-naphthyl) ethanol, a key intermediate for the synthesis of HMG Co-A reductase inhibitor, was successfully carried out using immobilized cells of a newly isolated carbonyl reductase producing yeast strain Candida viswanathii MTCC 5158. Calcium alginate (1.5%, w/v) gave the best immobilization efficiency. Among different organic solvents and ionic liquids tried as reaction media, isopropanol gave the best enantioselectivity with moderate conversion. The immobilized cells (100 mg/ml in 50 mM Tris buffer pH 9) showed best results at a substrate concentration of 0.2 mg/ml at 30 °C. After twelve cycles of reaction, no significant decrease in bioreduction efficiency of the immobilized cells was observed as compared to the free cells.