The Baker's Yeast Reduction of Keto-Esters in Organic Solvents:: A One Week Research Project for Undergraduate Students

• Michael North ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Wales

     University of Wales

     Castle, Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 75, Nº 5 (May), 1998, págs. 630-631
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • An experiment has been designed which allows final year undergraduate students to carry out a mini-research project in one week and thus get a flavour of the joys and tribulations of conducting chemical research before they undertake a major research project. The experiment is an investigation into the reduction of alpha- or beta-keto esters using non-fermenting Baker's yeast in petroleum ether. There are a number of advantages to this method of using Baker's yeast, including a reduction in the amount of organic solvent used, and a much simplified purification procedure. During the course of the mini-project, the substrate specificity of the yeast is investigated, and the conditions for the optimisation of a particular keto ester are determined. Each product is analysed by a variety of analytical techniques including polarimetry, IR, NMR, and GC. In addition, the use of correct stereochemical nomenclature to describe prochiral, and chiral compounds as well as chemical reactions are discussed.