Biocatalytic Access to Piperazines from Diamines and Dicarbonyls

Given the widespread importance of piperazines as building blocks for the production of pharmaceuticals, an efficient and selective synthesis is highly desirable. Here we show the direct synthesis of piperazines from 1,2-dicarbonyl and 1,2-diamine substrates using the R -selective imine reductase from Myxococcus stipitatus as biocatalyst. Various N- and C-substituted piperazines with high activity and excellent enantioselectivity were obtained under mild reaction conditions reaching up to 8.1 g per liter.