Asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-(2R,4′R,8′R)-α-tocopherol enabled by enzymatic desymmetrization

Lipase-catalyzed desymmetric hydrolysis enabled an efficient, stereoselective synthesis of chiral diol ( S )-14, the key intermediate to (+)-(2 R ,4′ R ,8′ R )-α-tocopherol (1).