CPC C12P 17/04 (2013.01) [A61Q 13/00 (2013.01); C07D 307/92 (2013.01); C07B 2200/07 (2013.01); C07B 2200/13 (2013.01); C12Y 504/99017 (2013.01)] | 15 Claims |
1. A method of preparing a solid form of (−)-Ambrox of formula (I)
![]() wherein the solid form of (−)-Ambrox is formed by a bioconversion process; said method comprising the steps of:
I) forming crystalline (−)-Ambrox in a bioconversion medium by means of a biocatalytic process;
II) separating the crystalline (−)-Ambrox from the bioconversion medium;
wherein the bioconversion medium obtained from the bioconversion process comprises a solid phase containing crude (−)-Ambrox, a liquid phase or phases consisting of water and an oily phase containing residual homofarnesol and other oily or oil-soluble impurities or by-products (II), (III) and (IV) present in the oily phase;
![]() wherein the bioconversion process is an enzyme-catalyzed cyclization of homofarnesol comprising a mixture of 7E,3E and 7E,3Z isomers of homofarnesol wherein the cyclization reaction is carried out in the presence of an SHC biocatalyst capable of bioconverting a homofarnesol mixture enriched in the 7E,3E isomer to (−)-Ambrox, wherein in the presence of appreciable amounts of homofarnesol, (−)-Ambrox and the by-products remain dissolved together; and wherein a reduction in the level of unreacted homofarnesol in admixture with (−)-Ambrox and the compounds (II), (III) and (IV) results in crystallization of (−)-Ambrox and facilitates downstream processing and isolation and/or purification of (−)-Ambrox in a solid form from the bioconversion medium.
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