Streamlined Chemo-Enzymatic Synthesis of Molnupiravir via Lipase Catalyst

Khawlhring Rosangzuala; Ravinder Reddy Patlolla; Asif Shaikh; Kethavath Anjali Priya Naik; Gajjala Raveena; Manjula Nemali; Mohana Krishna Reddy Mudiam; Linga Banoth

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c06872

Streamlined Chemo-Enzymatic Synthesis of Molnupiravir via Lipase Catalyst

ACS Omega. 2024 Jan 17;9(4):4423-4428. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c06872. eCollection 2024 Jan 30.

Authors

Khawlhring Rosangzuala^{1

2}, Ravinder Reddy Patlolla^{1

2}, Asif Shaikh^{1

3}, Kethavath Anjali Priya Naik^{2

1}, Gajjala Raveena^{2

1}, Manjula Nemali², Mohana Krishna Reddy Mudiam^{4

3

1}, Linga Banoth^{2

1}

Affiliations

¹ Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, Ghaziabad 201002, India.
² Organic Synthesis and Process Chemistry, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad 500007, India.
³ Department of Analytical and Structural Chemistry, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Tarnaka, Hyderabad 500007, India.
⁴ Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology (IPFT), Sector-20, Udyog Vihar, Gurugram, Haryana 122016, India.

Abstract

An enzymatic approach for the synthesis of Molnupiravir has been developed using immobilized lipase as a biocatalyst. This method involves a concise process of the regioselective esterification of uridine with isobutyric anhydride using Lipase (Addzyme-011). This efficient route gets 97% conversion of uridine 3, with an overall 73% yield of molnupiravir 1 in two steps. The use of inexpensive and easily available lipase makes the synthesis cost-effective and accessible globally, promoting the principles of green chemistry.