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Australian Journal of Chemistry Australian Journal of Chemistry Society
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Whole-Cell Biotransformation of m-Ethyltoluene into 1S,6R-5-Ethyl-1,6-dihydroxycyclohexa-2,4-diene-1-carboxylic Acid as an Approach to the C-Ring of the Binary Indole–Indoline Alkaloid Vinblastine

Martin G. Banwell A C , Alison J. Edwards A , David W. Lupton A and Gregg Whited B
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A Research School of Chemistry, Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia.

B Genencor International Inc., 925 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.

C Corresponding author. Email: mgb@rsc.anu.edu.au

Australian Journal of Chemistry 58(1) 14-17 https://doi.org/10.1071/CH04185
Submitted: 11 August 2004  Accepted: 11 October 2004   Published: 14 January 2005

Abstract

The title compound 3, a potential building block for the construction of analogues of the clinically important anti-cancer agent vinblastine (1), has been prepared in an efficient manner through a whole-cell biotransformation of m-ethyltoluene (4) using the microorganism Pseudomonas putida BGXM1 which expresses the enzyme toluate dioxygenase (TADO). Metabolite 3 was readily converted into derivatives 58 using conventional chemical techniques and the structure, including absolute stereochemistry, of the last of these was established by single-crystal X-ray analysis.


Acknowledgments

We thank the Institute of Advanced Studies as well as the Australian Research Council Discovery Program for generous financial support.


References


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[2]   For an up to date minireview on synthetic studies in the area, see: C. Schneider, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2002, 41,  4217.
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