Bacillus alcalophilus MTCC10234 catalyzed enantioselective kinetic resolution of aryl glycidyl ethers

The phenyl glycidyl ether derivatives have been kinetically resolved with the growing cells of Bacillus alcalophilus MTCC10234 yielding (S)-epoxides with up to >99% ee and (R)-diols with up to 89% ee. The enantiomeric ratio (E) of up to 67 has been obtained for biohydrolysis process. The effect of different substituents of phenyl glycidyl ether on the biocatalytic efficiency of B. alcalophilus MTCC10234 showed preference for methyl- and chloro-substituted aryl glycidyl ether derivatives whereas nitro-derivatives were transformed at a slower rate. 2,6-Dimethylphenyl glycidyl ether which contains a bulky aryl group having methyl group on both the ortho positions was resolved with an E = 39.