Highly efficient synthesis of enantiomerically enriched 2-hydroxymethylaziridines by enzymatic desymmetrization

Both enantiomers of protected and unprotected 2-hydroxymethylaziridines are efficiently and enantiospecifically synthesized by using a combination of enzymatic and synthetic methods. PPL was used for lipase-catalyzed desymmetrization of N-protected serinol. [reaction: see text].