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A series of novel (R)-furylbenzotiazol-based cyanohydrin acetates were prepared in over 90% isolated yields from the corresponding furancarbaldehydes. The one-pot method combines a basic resin to produce hydrogen cyanide from acetone cyanohydrin, an equilibrium between the formation and decomposition of furylbenzotiazol-based cyanohydrins and the unique enantioselectivity of Candida antarctica lipase A, allowing the acylation of (R)-cyanohydrins in the presence of vinyl acetate in anhydrous acetonitrile. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]