Abstract
Both (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of rhododendrol were prepared in high enantiomeric exess by lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia (Amano PS)-catalyzed acetylation of racemic 1 with vinyl acetate at room temperature. Especially, in the case of using acetonitrile as the solvent, by-products 4 and 5 were minimized.