A Practical NMR-Based High-Throughput Assay for Screening Enantioselective Catalysts and Biocatalysts

Two NMR-based approaches for high-throughput screening of enantioselective catalysts and biocatalysts are described. One version makes use of pseudo-enantiomers or pseudo-meso-compounds based on 13C-labeling. A throughput of at least 1400 ee determinations per day is possible by using an appropriate flow-through cell and an autosampler. The other approach is based on traditional diastereomer formation using a chiral reagent or complexing agent. The ee values are accurate to within ±2% and ±5% of the true values.