Empirical method for predicting enantioselectivity in catalytic reactions: demonstration with lipase and oxazaborolidine

We derived a novel equation capable of predicting the degree of enantioselectivity in a catalytic reaction without any knowledge of the reaction mechanism and/or the transition-state structure, and tested the validity of this equation by changing substrates systematically in the lipase or oxazaborolidine-catalyzed reactions. A good correlation was observed between the predicted and observed E values, and the stereochemistry of the products could be predicted correctly in most cases (28 out of 30).