Chiral 2-hydroxypropanone derivatives 5a−v, 8a−d, and 10a, b were formed by benzoylformate decarboxylase (BFD) catalyzed C−C bond formation. A donor aldehyde and acetaldehyde as an acceptor were carboligated in aqueous buffer solution with remarkable ease in high chemical yield and good to high optical purity. The substrate range of this thiamin diphosphate dependent enzyme was examined to employ this
The catalytic asymmetric synthesis of chiral 2‐hydroxy ketones by using different thiaminediphosphatedependent enzymes, namely benzaldehydelyase from Pseudomonas fluorescens (PfBAL), a variant of benzoylformate decarboxylase from Pseudomonas putida (PpBFD‐L461A), branched‐chain 2‐keto acid decarboxylase from Lactococcus lactis (LlKdcA) and a variant of pyruvate decarboxylase from Acetobacter pasteurianus