Asymmetric synthesis by artificial copper biocatalysts

Abstract

Asymmetric synthesis plays a critical role in the production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and a wide array of functional materials. Recent years have witnessed remarkable successes in asymmetric synthesis including Friedel-Crafts (F-C) alkylation, Diels-Alder (D-A) cycloaddition, Michael addition and sulfoxidation reactions. In these reactions, copper-based organic catalysts and enzymes have emerged as extraordinary and powerful catalysts to offer precise control over the stereochemistry. However, organic catalysis faces the challenges of harsh reaction environment as well as poor specificity, and enzymes catalyze a narrow range of substrates. In this regard, artificial copper enzymes, incorporating chemically synthetic copper centers into protein scaffolds/nucleic acid strands, mimic the selectivity and mild condition of biocatalysis and meanwhile keep the intrinsic catalytic reactivity of chemical catalysis. This review outlines the progresses on artificial copper enzymes catalyzed asymmetric synthesis and illustrates their design principles and synthesis strategies. It is believed that artificial copper enzymes are promising to reshape the landscape of asymmetric synthesis and facilitate a diverse range of chemical transformations.