Increased NADPH availability in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis>: improvement of the product per glucose ratio in reductive whole-cell biotransformation

A basic requirement for the efficiency of reductive whole-cell biotransformations is the reducing capacity of the host. Here, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) was applied for NADPH regeneration with glucose as the electron-donating co-substrate using Escherichia coli as host. Reduction of the prochiral β-keto ester methyl acetoacetate to the chiral hydroxy ester (R)-methyl 3-hydroxybutyrate (MHB) served as a model reaction, catalyzed by an R-specific alcohol dehydrogenase. The main focus was maximization of the reduced product per glucose yield of this pathway-coupled cofactor regeneration with resting cells. With a strain lacking the phosphoglucose isomerase, the yield of the reference strain was increased from 2.44 to 3.78 mol MHB/mol glucose. Even higher yields were obtained with strains lacking either phosphofructokinase I (4.79 mol MHB/mol glucose) or phosphofructokinase I and II (5.46 mol MHB/mol glucose). These results persuasively demonstrate the potential of NADPH generation by the PPP in whole-cell biotransformations.     

Identification of a novel NADH-specific aldo-keto reductase using sequence and structural homologies

The AKRs (aldo-keto reductases) are a superfamily of enzymes which mainly rely on NADPH to reversibly reduce various carbonyl-containing compounds to the corresponding alcohols. A small number have been found with dual NADPH/NADH specificity, usually preferring NADPH, but none are exclusive for NADH. Crystal structures of the dual-specificity enzyme xylose reductase (AKR2B5) indicate that NAD+ is bound via a key interaction with a glutamate that is able to change conformations to accommodate the 2'-phosphate of NADP+. Sequence comparisons suggest that analogous glutamate or aspartate residues may function in other AKRs to allow NADH utilization. Based on this, nine putative enzymes with potential NADH specificity were identified and seven genes were successfully expressed and purified from Drosophila melanogaster, Escherichia coli, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Sulfolobus solfataricus, Sinorhizobium meliloti and Thermotoga maritima. Each was assayed for co-substrate dependence with conventional AKR substrates. Three were exclusive for NADPH (AKR2E3, AKR3F2 and AKR3F3), two were dual-specific (AKR3C2 and AKR3F1) and one was specific for NADH (AKR11B2), the first such activity in an AKR. Fluorescence measurements of the seventh protein indicated that it bound both NADPH and NADH but had no activity. Mutation of the aspartate into an alanine residue or a more mobile glutamate in the NADH-specific E. coli protein converted it into an enzyme with dual specificity. These results show that the presence of this carboxylate is an indication of NADH dependence. This should allow improved prediction of co-substrate specificity and provide a basis for engineering enzymes with altered co-substrate utilization for this class of enzymes.     

Enhancement of xylitol production in Candida tropicalis by co-expression of two genes involved in pentose phosphate pathway

The yeast Candida tropicalis produces xylitol, a natural, low-calorie sweetener whose metabolism does not require insulin, by catalytic activity of NADPH-dependent xylose reductase. The oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is a major basis for NADPH biosynthesis in C. tropicalis. In order to increase xylitol production rate, xylitol dehydrogenase gene (XYL2)disrupted C. tropicalis strain BSXDH-3 was engineered to co-express zwf and gnd genes which, respectively encodes glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGDH), under the control of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) promoter. NADPH-dependent xylitol production was higher in the engineered strain, termed "PP", than in BSXDH-3. In fermentation experiments using glycerol as a co-substrate with xylose, strain PP showed volumetric xylitol productivity of 1.25 g l(-1) h(-1), 21% higher than the rate (1.04 g l(-1) h(-1)) in BSXDH-3. This is the first report of increased metabolic flux toward PPP in C. tropicalis for NADPH regeneration and enhanced xylitol production.     

Engineering redox cofactor regeneration for improved pentose fermentation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Pentose fermentation to ethanol with recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae is slow and has a low yield. A likely reason for this is that the catabolism of the pentoses D-xylose and L-arabinose through the corresponding fungal pathways creates an imbalance of redox cofactors. The process, although redox neutral, requires NADPH and NAD+, which have to be regenerated in separate processes. NADPH is normally generated through the oxidative part of the pentose phosphate pathway by the action of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (ZWF1). To facilitate NADPH regeneration, we expressed the recently discovered gene GDP1, which codes for a fungal NADP+-dependent D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (NADP-GAPDH) (EC 1.2.1.13), in an S. cerevisiae strain with the D-xylose pathway. NADPH regeneration through an NADP-GAPDH is not linked to CO2 production. The resulting strain fermented D-xylose to ethanol with a higher rate and yield than the corresponding strain without GDP1; i.e., the levels of the unwanted side products xylitol and CO2 were lowered. The oxidative part of the pentose phosphate pathway is the main natural path for NADPH regeneration. However, use of this pathway causes wasteful CO2 production and creates a redox imbalance on the path of anaerobic pentose fermentation to ethanol because it does not regenerate NAD+. The deletion of the gene ZWF1 (which codes for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase), in combination with overexpression of GDP1 further stimulated D-xylose fermentation with respect to rate and yield. Through genetic engineering of the redox reactions, the yeast strain was converted from a strain that produced mainly xylitol and CO2 from D-xylose to a strain that produced mainly ethanol under anaerobic conditions.     

Protein engineering of formate dehydrogenase

NAD+-dependent formate dehydrogenase (FDH, EC 1.2.1.2) is one of the best enzymes for the purpose of NADH regeneration in dehydrogenase-based synthesis of optically active compounds. Low operational stability and high production cost of native FDHs limit their application in commercial production of chiral compounds. The review summarizes the results on engineering of bacterial and yeast FDHs aimed at improving their chemical and thermal stability, catalytic activity, switch in coenzyme specificity from NAD+ to NADP+ and overexpression in Escherichia coli cells.     

Recent trends and novel concepts in cofactor-dependent biotransformations

Cofactor-dependent enzymes catalyze a broad range of synthetically useful transformations. However, the cofactor requirement also poses economic and practical challenges for the application of these biocatalysts. For three decades, considerable research effort has been devoted to the development of reliable in situ regeneration methods for the most commonly employed cofactors, particularly NADH and NADPH. Today, researchers can choose from a plethora of options, and oxidoreductases are routinely employed even on industrial scale. Nevertheless, more efficient cofactor regeneration methods are still being developed, with the aim of achieving better atom economy, simpler reaction setups, and higher productivities. Besides, cofactor dependence has been recognized as an opportunity to confer novel reactivity upon enzymes by engineering their cofactors, and to couple (redox) biotransformations in multi-enzyme cascade systems. These novel concepts will help to further establish cofactor-dependent biotransformations as an attractive option for the synthesis of biologically active compounds, chiral building blocks, and bio-based platform molecules.     

Metabolic engineering and transhydrogenase effects on NADPH availability in escherichia coli

The synthesis of several industrially useful compounds are cofactor‐dependent, requiring reducing equivalents like NADPH in enzymatic reactions leading up to the synthesis of high‐value compounds like polymers, chiral alcohols, and antibiotics. However, NADPH is costly and has limited intracellular availability. This study focuses on the study of the effect of the two transhydrogenase enzymes of Escherichia coli, PntAB and UdhA (SthA) on reducing equivalents‐dependent biosynthesis. The production of (S)‐2‐chloropropionate from 2‐chloroacrylate is used as a model system for monitoring NADPH availability because 2‐haloacrylate reductase, the enzyme catalyzing the one‐step conversion to (S)‐2‐chloropropionate in the synthesis pathway, requires NADPH as a cofactor. Results suggest that the presence of UdhA increases product yield and NADPH availability while the presence of PntAB has the opposite effect. A maximum product yield of 1.4 mol product/mol glucose was achieved aerobically in a pnt‐deletion strain with udhA overexpression, a 150% improvement over the wild‐type control strain. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 29:1124–1130, 2013     

Elementary Flux Mode Analysis Revealed Cyclization Pathway as a Powerful Way for NADPH Regeneration of Central Carbon Metabolism

NADPH regeneration capacity is attracting growing research attention due to its important role in resisting oxidative stress. Besides, NADPH availability has been regarded as a limiting factor in production of industrially valuable compounds. The central carbon metabolism carries the carbon skeleton flux supporting the operation of NADPH-regenerating enzyme and offers flexibility in coping with NADPH demand for varied intracellular environment. To acquire an insightful understanding of its NADPH regeneration capacity, the elementary mode method was employed to compute all elementary flux modes (EFMs) of a network representative of central carbon metabolism. Based on the metabolic flux distributions of these modes, a cluster analysis of EFMs with high NADPH regeneration rate was conducted using the self-organizing map clustering algorithm. The clustering results were used to study the relationship between the flux of total NADPH regeneration and the flux in each NADPH producing enzyme. The results identified several reaction combinations supporting high NADPH regeneration, which are proven to be feasible in cells via thermodynamic analysis and coincident with a great deal of previous experimental report. Meanwhile, the reaction combinations showed some common characteristics: there were one or two decarboxylation oxidation reactions in the combinations that produced NADPH and the combination constitution included certain gluconeogenesis pathways. These findings suggested cyclization pathways as a powerful way for NADPH regeneration capacity of bacterial central carbon metabolism.     

Yeast Catalysed Reduction of β-Keto Esters (1): Factors Affecting Whole-Cell Catalytic Activity and Stereoselectivity

Six yeasts were studied for their ability to reduce ethyl 4-chloroacetoacetate (ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate) stereoselectively. Five species reduced the substrate to ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate of high (92–99%) optical purity. With glucose-grown cells, substrate reduction could only be demonstrated when growth was oxygen-limited, whereas xylose-grown Pichia capsulata could be grown under conditions of oxygen excess without losing its reducing ability. Zygosaccha-romyces rouxii exhibited high enantioselectivity (≥98% ee (S)-enantiomer) under all conditions tested, whilst in P. capsulata, a novel switch was observed from producing mainly the (R)-enantiomer using glucose as co-substrate to producing mainly the (R)-enantiomer using 2-propanol as co-substrate. This switch was correlated with a change in reduction predominantly from an NADPH-dependent dehydrogenase system to an NADH-dependent system. In the production of ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate with P. capsulata, the enantioselectivity was also found to depend upon growth conditions. With glucose-grown cells, higher enantioselectivity was observed using cells harvested in stationary phase (93–94% ee) compared with cells harvested in exponential phase (43–60% ee). Growing P. capsulata with xylose rather than glucose as the major source of carbon for growth resulted in an eight-fold increase in the specific rate of ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate production using 2-propanol as co-substrate, although enantioselectivity was slightly reduced (65–81% ee) compared with the maximum achieved with glucose-grown cells. The effect of growth on xylose could also be correlated with enhanced activity of an NADH-dependent (R)-selective dehydrogenase system.     

Oxidative biotransformations using oxygenases

Considerable progress has been made in manipulating oxidative biotransformations using oxygenases. Substrate acceptance, catalytic activity, regioselectivity and stereoselectivity have been improved significantly by substrate engineering, enzyme engineering or biocatalyst screening. Preparative biotransformations have been carried out to synthesize useful pharmaceutical intermediates or chiral synthons on the gram to several-hundred-gram scale, by use of whole cells of wild type or recombinant strains. The synthetic application of oxygenases in vitro has been shown to be possible by enzymatic or electrochemical regeneration of NADH or NADPH.     

Metabolic phenotype of phosphoglucose isomerase mutants of Corynebacterium glutamicum

A series of experiments reported in the literature using fluxomics as an efficient functional genomics tool revealed that the L-lysine production of the Corynebacterium glutamicum strain MH20-22B correlates with the extent of intracellular NADPH supply. Some alternative metabolic engineering strategies to increase intracellular NADPH supply in the C. glutamicum strain DSM5715 were considered and finally the redirection of carbon flux through the pentose phosphate pathway with two NADPH generating enzymatic reactions was favored. Elsewhere, the construction of a phosphoglucose isomerase (Pgi) null mutant of the C. glutamicum strain DSM5715 has been described by utilizing genetic engineering as well as some aspects of its metabolic phenotype. Most interestingly, it was shown that not only could the L-lysine formation be increased by 1.7-fold but the by-product concentration for the null mutant strain was also able to be drastically reduced. In this publication we discuss this metabolic phenotype in detail and present additional data on by-product formation as well as yield considerations. Results from isotope based metabolic flux analysis in combination with considerations on NADPH metabolism clearly exclude the existence of Pgi isoenzymes in C. glutamicum strain DSM5715. The genome region containing the pgi gene was analyzed. It cannot be excluded that polar effects might have been caused by the disruption of the pgi gene and might have contributed to the observed metabolic phenotype of C. glutamicum Pgi mutants. We illustrate growth characteristics of a Pgi mutant of an industrial L-lysine production strain. A reduced growth rate and a biphasic growth behavior was observed. The importance of NADPH reoxidation for well balanced growth in Pgi mutants is discussed. Another phosphoglucose isomerase mutant of C. glutamicum has been described in literature with which an increase in L-lysine yield from 42 to 52% was observed. This finding highlights the general potential of metabolic flux redirection towards the pentose phosphate pathway, which could be used for metabolic engineering of the biotechnological synthesis of (1) aromatic amino acids and (2) chemicals whose synthesis depends on intracellular NADPH supply.     

Isolation of a Bacillus strain producing ketone reductase with high substrate tolerance

Target reaction-oriented screening from soil samples yielded a ketone reductase-producing Bacillus sp., strain ECU0013, which exhibits excellent stereoselectivity, high substrate tolerance and is capable of regenerating the required cofactor with glucose as a co-substrate. Whole-cells catalyzed the asymmetric reduction of 2-chloro-1-phenylethanone (50 mM) to (R)-2-chloro-1-phenylethanol with a 93.3% conversion rate and 99% e.e. (enantiomeric excess). A variety of ketones were enantioselectively reduced by resting cells, giving corresponding chiral alcohols with good to excellent e.e. values. These results suggest the potential of this strain for the industrial production of chiral halogenated aromatic alcohols.     

Comparison of engineered <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> and engineered <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> for the production of an optically pure keto alcohol

In this study, the production of enantiomerically pure (1R,4S,6S)-6-hydroxy-bicyclo[2.2.2]octane-2-one ((−)-2) through stereoselective bioreduction was used as a model reaction for the comparison of engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae and engineered Escherichia coli as biocatalysts. For both microorganisms, over-expression of the gene encoding the NADPH-dependent aldo-keto reductase YPR1 resulted in high purity of the keto alcohol (−)-2 (>99% ee, 97–98% de). E. coli had three times higher initial reduction rate but S. cerevisiae continued the reduction reaction for a longer time period, thus reaching a higher conversion of the substrate (95%). S. cerevisiae was also more robust than E. coli, as demonstrated by higher viability during bioreduction. It was also investigated whether the NADPH regeneration rate was sufficient to supply the over-expressed reductase with NADPH. Five strains of each microorganism with varied carbon flux through the NADPH regenerating pentose phosphate pathway were genetically constructed and compared. S. cerevisiae required an increased NADPH regeneration rate to supply YPR1 with co-enzyme while the native NADPH regeneration rate was sufficient for E. coli. Nádia Skorupa Parachin and Magnus Carlquist have contributed equally to the paper.     

Yeast Catalysed Reduction of β-Keto Esters (1): Factors Affecting Whole-Cell Catalytic Activity and Stereoselectivity

Six yeasts were studied for their ability to reduce ethyl 4-chloroacetoacetate (ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate) stereoselectively. Five species reduced the substrate to ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate of high (92-99%) optical purity. With glucose-grown cells, substrate reduction could only be demonstrated when growth was oxygen-limited, whereas xylose-grown Pichia capsulata could be grown under conditions of oxygen excess without losing its reducing ability. Zygosaccha-romyces rouxii exhibited high enantioselectivity (≥98% ee (S)-enantiomer) under all conditions tested, whilst in P. capsulata, a novel switch was observed from producing mainly the (R)-enantiomer using glucose as co-substrate to producing mainly the (R)-enantiomer using 2-propanol as co-substrate. This switch was correlated with a change in reduction predominantly from an NADPH-dependent dehydrogenase system to an NADH-dependent system. In the production of ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate with P. capsulata, the enantioselectivity was also found to depend upon growth conditions. With glucose-grown cells, higher enantioselectivity was observed using cells harvested in stationary phase (93-94% ee) compared with cells harvested in exponential phase (43-60% ee). Growing P. capsulata with xylose rather than glucose as the major source of carbon for growth resulted in an eight-fold increase in the specific rate of ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate production using 2-propanol as co-substrate, although enantioselectivity was slightly reduced (65-81% ee) compared with the maximum achieved with glucose-grown cells. The effect of growth on xylose could also be correlated with enhanced activity of an NADH-dependent (R)-selective dehydrogenase system.     

Towards the discovery of alcohol dehydrogenases: NAD(P)H fluorescence-based screening and characterization of the newly isolated Rhodococcus erythropolis WZ010 in the preparation of chiral aryl secondary alcohols

A simple and reliable procedure was developed to screen biocatalysts with high alcohol dehydrogenase activity, efficient internal coenzyme regeneration, and high stereoselectivity. The strategy of activity screening in a microtitre plate format was based on the detection of fluorescence of NAD(P)H originating from the oxidation of alcohols. The primary and secondary screenings from soil samples yielded a versatile bacterial biocatalyst Rhodococcus erythropolis WZ010 demonstrating potential for the preparation of chiral aryl secondary alcohols. In terms of activity and stereoselectivity, the optimized reaction conditions in the stereoselective oxidation were 30?°C, pH 10.5, and 250?rpm, whereas bioreduction using glucose as co-substrate was the most favorable at 35?°C and pH 7.5 in the static reaction mixture. Under the optimized conditions, fresh cells of the strain stereoselectively oxidized the (S)-enantiomer of racemic 1-phenylethanol (120?mM) to acetophenone and afforded the unoxidized (R)-1-phenylethanol in 49.4?% yield and >99.9?% enantiomeric excess (e.e.). In the reduction of 10?mM acetophenone, the addition of 100?mM glucose significantly increased the conversion rate from 3.1 to 97.4?%. In the presence of 800?mM glucose, acetophenone and other aromatic ketones (80?mM) were enantioselectively reduced to corresponding (S)-alcohols with excellent e.e. values. Both stereoselective oxidation and asymmetric reduction required no external cofactor regeneration system.     

Improvement of natural isolates of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> strains for synthesis of a chiral building block using classic genetics

The asymmetric bio-reduction of 4-chloro-acetoacetic-acid-ethyl-ester to the pharmaceutical building block (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate-ethyl-ester requires the utilization of an enantioselective robust biocatalyst. Some of the natural Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, isolated from Mount Carmel National Park in Israel, were characterized as resistant to environmental stress. Nevertheless, these strains showed relatively low enantiomeric-excess (ee), while a laboratory strain, Y103, exhibited a selectivity of 98% ee. The enantioselective lab strain was crossed with the multi-stress resistant environmental isolate (93% ee) followed by backcross with Y103, to subsequently obtain a haploid offspring of backcross-1, exhibiting both high multi-stress resistance and high enantioselectivity (98% ee). Introducing osmotic (1 M NaCl), oxidative (0.6 mM H₂O₂) and thermal stress (44°C) to growing cultures of the enantioselective parent, resulted in a decrease of 24–32% in specific activity, while the enantioselectivity of the stress-resistant parent decreased by 4–12% ee. Unlike its original parental strains, the new strain maintained constant specific activity and enantioselectivity when introduced to the various stress factors. This work shows that the classic introgression method, can serve as a viable approach for creating a robust enantioselective biocatalyst, designed for industrial production of chiral compounds.     

Asymmetric autocatalysis and its application to chiral discrimination

Chiral pyrimidyl, quinolyl, and pyridyl alkanols act as asymmetric autocatalysts with significant amplification of enantiomeric excess (ee) in the enantioselective addition of diisopropylzinc to pyrimidine-5-, quinoline-3-, and pyridine-3-carbaldehydes, respectively. 2-Alkynyl-5-pyrimidyl alkanol with as low as 0.6% ee automultiplies during the consecutive asymmetric autocatalysis with increasing ee to as high as >99.5%. Asymmetric autocatalysis is applied to chiral discrimination of organic compounds. In the presence of methyl mandelate or 2-butanol with very low ee's (0.05-0.1%) as chiral initiators, the reaction between pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde and diisopropylzinc affords pyrimidyl alkanol with higher ee's with the correlated absolute configurations to those of the chiral initiators. Chirality of amino acids (such as leucine) and helicenes with very low ee's are also discriminated by asymmetric autocatalysis, affording pyrimidyl alkanol with very high ee's. Asymmetric autocatalysis also discriminates the chirality of primary alcohols-alpha-d, monosubstituted [2.2]paracyclophanes and octahedral cobalt complex with achiral ligands of which the chirality is due to the topology of coordination of the achiral ligand. Even the chirality of inorganic crystals such as quartz and sodium chlorate is discriminated by asymmetric autocatalysis of pyrimidyl alkanol. Thus, asymmetric autocatalysis provides a unique method for the discrimination of chiral compounds and crystals.     

Parallel SFC/MS-MUX screening to assess enantiomeric purity

Enantiomeric excess (ee) was evaluated for two internally synthesized compound libraries using a high-throughput automated, intelligent four-channel parallel supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry system equipped with a multiplexed ion source interface (SFC/MS-MUX). The two libraries contained compounds spanning a wide range of enantiomeric ratios with structurally diverse chemical scaffolds and stereogenic centers. The system analyzed each sample simultaneously against four chiral columns using up to six organic modifiers. Enhancements to our previously published parallel supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry system were implemented to address the challenges associated with automated trace enantiomer identification and quantitation. A reversal of enantiomer elution order was observed for several samples across multiple CSPs and modifiers. The relationship between elution order and % ee accuracy is presented for compounds exhibiting high, middle and low % ee values. Despite incidences in which the minor enantiomer eluted prior to the major enantiomer with less than baseline resolution, the overall % ee was in agreement with separations in which full baseline resolution was achieved. The methods presented here demonstrate the value and utility of high-throughput ee determinations to support drug discovery and development programs.     

Engineering the Pichia pastoris methanol oxidation pathway for improved NADH regeneration during whole-cell biotransformation

Industrial biocatalytic reduction processes require the efficient regeneration of reduced cofactors for the asymmetric reduction of prochiral compounds to chiral intermediates which are needed for the production of fine chemicals and drugs. Here, we present a new engineering strategy for improved NADH regeneration based on the Pichia pastoris methanol oxidation pathway. Studying the kinetic properties of alcohol oxidase (AOX), formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FLD) and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) and using the derived kinetic data for subsequent kinetic simulations of NADH formation rates led to the identification of FLD activity to constitute the main bottleneck for efficient NADH recycling via the methanol dissimilation pathway. The simulation results were confirmed constructing a recombinant P. pastoris strain overexpressing P. pastoris FLD and the highly active NADH-dependent butanediol dehydrogenase from S. cerevisiae. Employing the engineered strain, significantly improved butanediol production rates were achieved in whole-cell biotransformations.     

Mass balancing in kinetic resolution: calculating yield and enantiomeric excess using chiral balance

When kinetic resolution is applied for the production of enantiomerically pure compounds, process options may be used which involve more than one chiral substrate and one chiral product, such as sequential or parallel enzymatic kinetic resolutions or hydrolysis of diastereomers. Although the relation between the yields (y) of the chiral compounds is straightforward in these cases, the relation between their enantiomeric excess (ee) values is not. Combining mass balances into a so-called chiral balance (Sigma y . ee(R) = 0) provides the relation between enantiomeric excess values in a useful manner. This chiral balance easily shows which nonmeasured enantiomeric excess values and yields can be calculated from measured values. The chiral balance is only valid when configurations at chiral centers are conserved. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.