The results from the baker's yeast-mediated reduction of the acetates 3a-d and the methyl ethers 5a-d were compared with the same biotransformation which converts the α-hydroxy ketones 1a-d into the (R)-diols 2a-d (90–98%ee); the acetates 3a-d afford the (S)-monoacetates 4a-d (72–94% ee) and the methyl ethers 5a-d are reduced to the (R)-monoethers 6a-d (64–76% ce).
Preparation of chiral phenyl glycidyl sulfide 1, which is a useful chiral building block for tertiary alcohol derivatives, is achieved via lipase-catalyzed reaction as a key step.