Enantioenriched 1-aryl-2-fluoroethylamines. Efficient lipase-catalysed resolution and limitations to the Mitsunobu inversion protocol

Both enantiomers of eight 1-aryl-2-fluoroethylamines have been synthesised starting with 1-aryl-2-fluoroethanones. Kinetic resolution of the amines using lipase B from Candida antarctica with ethyl methoxyacetate as the acyl donor gave the (R)-amines in 96–99% ee and the (S)-methoxyacetamides in >99.5% ee. The resolution was robust with respect to variation in reaction temperature, acyl donor concentration, water activity and substrate structure. Nine other lipase preparations failed to catalyse the reaction or gave a low enantioselectivity. Secondly, a Mitsunobu inversion protocol starting with enantioenriched 1-aryl-2-fluoroethanols using phthalimide as nucleophile was employed in the synthesis of the (S)-1-aryl-2-fluoroethylamines. Both the inversion efficiency and yield depended on the aromatic substituents. For six of the substrates, clean inversion of the stereochemistry was observed. However, racemisation and low yields were the result when electron-donating substituents were present at the aromatic ring. When substituted with a cyano or a nitro group, an unexpected fluorine elimination occurred, limiting the yield for these transformations. The absolute configuration of the 1-aryl-2-fluoroethylamines was determined using circular dichroism.