Investigation of ionic liquids as reaction media for enzymatic enantioselective acylation of amines

The use of ionic liquids as reaction media for lipase-catalyzed enantioselective acylation of 1-phenylethylamine (1) and 2-phenyl-1-propylamine (2) with 4-pentenoic acid was investigated. The best performing ionic liquid for each of these amines as well as its solvent properties were very different. Preparative scale kinetic resolution of 1 was performed efficiently in 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulphonate.