Roche Vitamins Inc.

The Scripps Research Institute

Bernard Orsat

Chi-Huey Wong

Beat Wirz

Paul Spurr

Wilna J Moree

David Carl Burdick

Stefan Bischof

Shu Takayama

The invention provides a process for the manufacture of a retinyl acylate of the formula I:

Manufacture of cycloalkenylpolyene esters

Racemic amines are enzymically converted by enantioselective carbamation to produce to chiral carbamates. Simple homocarbonates employed as substrates. The chiral carbamates may then be deprotected to yield the original amine in a chiral form. Alternatively, the chiral carbamates may be reduced so as to produce methylated chiral amines.

Enantioselection of amines using homocarbonates with hydrolase

A process for making a compound of formula ##STR1## wherein R signifies a C.sub.1-23 -alkyl group or a C.sub.2-23 -alkenyl group containing 1 to 3 double bonds, comprising the steps of (a) reacting a compound of formula ##STR2## with an acylating agent which is in a mixture comprising (i) an organic solvent and (ii) a lipase which is present in suspension, so as to form the compound of formula I; and (b) recovering the compound of formula I is provided for. The process can be used to make (11Z,13Z)-7,10-dihydro-10-hydroxy-retinyl acetate, an starting material for the production of vitamin A acetate.

Enzymatic acylation

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Allschwil, Switzerland

Bernard Orsat