Microbial hydrolysis of acetylated nucleosides.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of acetylated nucleosides using microbial whole cells has been carried out for the first time. Unlike Candida antarctica B lipase-catalysed alcoholysis, none of the tested microorganisms displayed a common deacetylation profile. Depending on the substrate and the biocatalyst used, 5'-selective deprotection or mixtures of mono O-acetylated products were obtained.