Patent ID: 7166749

Claim:
A process of preparing an aromatic α-hydroxy ketone of formula (I) wherein R is H or C 1-6 alkyl, and Ar is aryl, wherein said aryl optionally contains one or more heteroatoms chosen from N, S and O, and optionally consists of fused rings, and said alkyl and aryl are optionally substituted by 1 to 3 substituents chosen from C 1-3 alkyl, C 1-3 alkoxy, F, Cl, Br, I, OH, NH 2 , CN, and NR 1 R 2 , wherein R 1 and R 2 can be independently H or C 1-4 alkyl, and said C 1-3 alkyl can be further substituted by a substituent chosen from F, Cl, Br, I, and OH; which process comprises reacting an aldehyde of formula (II) with a 2-oxoacid of formula (III) wherein Ar and R in formulae (II) and (III) have the meaning defined for formula (I); in the presence of a mixture comprising 2-hydroxy-3-oxoacid synthase chosen from AHAS and TSAS, and thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP), flavine adenine dinucleotide (FAD), metal ions, and a buffer.