D-Aminoacylase-Catalyzed Markovnikov Addition of Azoles to Vinyl Esters in Organic Solvents

A novel strategy to effect Markovnikov addition between azoles and vinyl esters was developed, in which a ʹpromiscuousʹ enzyme, D-aminoacylase from Escherichia coli, was utilized as the catalyst. The enzymatic Markovnikov addition is dependent on the organic solvent chosen. By this strategy, a series of pharmaceutically active azole derivatives were synthesized in moderate to excellent yields.