Stereoselective reduction of 4-benzoylpyridine by recombinant pig heart carbonyl reductase

Optically active (−)- and (+)-α-phenyl-4-pyridylmethanol [(−)- and (+)-PPOL] were synthesized from 4-benzoylpyridine (4-BP) and established to possess (S)- and (R)-configurations, respectively, by X-ray single crystal structure analysis. When 4-BP was incubated in the reaction mixture containing recombinant pig heart carbonyl reductase (rPHCR) and NADPH, the reduction product appeared as a main peak corresponding to (S)-(−)-PPOL on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This result indicates that rPHCR has the ability to reduce stereoselectively 4-BP to (S)-(−)-PPOL with high optical purity.