PURPOSE: To obtain the subject compound useful as a raw material for pharmaceuticals, etc., on an industrial scale at a low cost by treating racemic mandelic acid with a cultured liquid or cells of microorganism capable of asymmetrically decomposing the acid to effect the decomposition of one of the optically active isomers and separating the remaining antipode.
CONSTITUTION: A microbial strain capable of asymmetrically decomposing racemic mandelic acid of formula (e.g. Pseudomonas polycolor IFO 3918) is inoculated in a medium containing DL-mandelic acid and cultured at 30°C for 72hr under shaking. An aqueous solution containing DL-mandelic acid is made to react with the cultured liquid, the bacterial cell recovered from the liquid by centrifugal separation or the treated product of the cell to effect the asymmetric decomposition of L-mandelic acid which is one of the optically active isomers. The reaction liquid is extracted with ethyl acetate, the extracted liquid is concentrated under reduced pressure and the produced crystal is recrystallized with 1:1 mixture of hexane and ethyl acetate to obtain the optically active mandelic acid consisting of the antipode D-mandelic acid.
FURUI MASAKATSU
NAKAMICHI KATSUHIKO
TAKAHASHI EIJI
