Chemical Synthesis of (RP)- and (SP)‑[16O,17O,18O]Phosphoenol Pyruvate

Enzymes and chirality are intimately associated. For their mechanisms to be studied, chiral substrates are needed as probes. Here, we report a concise synthesis of (RP)- and (SP)-[16O,17O,18O]­phosphoenol pyruvate starting from enantiomerically pure (R)-2-chloro-1-phenylethanol, which was transformed into 18O-labeled 3-methyl-1-phenylbutane-1,3-diol. The diol was reacted with tris­(dimethylamino)­phosphane and consecutively with H217O to yield a mixture of cyclic H-phosphonates labeled with 17O and 18O. They were silylated and subjected to a Perkow reaction with ethyl 3-chloropyruvate. Two protected-[16O,17O,18O]­phosphoenol pyruvates were formed and finally globally deprotected. Their configuration was reassessed by a known enzymatic test in combination with conversion of the formed d-glucose-6-phosphate into mixtures of labeled methyl d-glucose-4,6-phosphates, which were analyzed by 31P NMR spectroscopy. The enzymatic test supported the configuration assigned to labeled stereogenic phosphorus atoms on the basis of synthesis.