Biomimetic hydrogenation: a reusable NADH co-enzyme model for hydrogenation of α,β-epoxy ketones and 1,2-diketones

A biomimetic method has been developed to transform α,β-epoxy ketones or 1,2-diketones into corresponding β-hydroxy ketones or α-hydroxy ketones using a catalytic amount of BNAH or BNA+Br−. The regeneration of BNAH or BNA+Br− is achieved by a mixture of HCOOH/Et3N. A radical mechanism is proposed to explain these observations.