BIOTRANSFORMATION OF LINALOOL TO FURANOID AND PYRANOID LINALOOL OXIDES BY ASPERGILLUS-NIGER

Biotransformation of (+/-)-linalool with submerged shaking cultures of Aspergillus niger, particularly A. niger ATCC 9142, yielded a mixture of cis- and trans-furanoid linalool oxide (yield 15-24%) and cis- and trans-pyranoid linalool oxide (yield 5-9%). Biotransformation of (R)- (-)-linalool with the same strain yielded almost pure trans-furanoid a nd trans-pyranoid linalool oxide (ee > 95). These conversions were pur ely biocatalytic, since in acidified water (pH < 3.5) almost 50% linal ool was recovered unchanged, the rest was lost by evaporation. The bio transformation was also carried out with growing surface cultures. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.