Abstract
Effective procedures for the synthesis of optically pure alcohols are highly valuable. A commonly employed method involves the biocatalytic reduction of prochiral ketones. This is typically achieved by using nicotinamide cofactor‐dependent reductases. In this work, we demonstrate that a rather unexplored class of enzymes can also be used for this. We used an F420‐dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (ADF) from Methanoculleus thermophilicus that was found to reduce various ketones to enantiopure alcohols. The respective (S) alcohols were obtained in excellent enantiopurity (>99 % ee). Furthermore, we discovered that the deazaflavoenzyme can be used as a self‐sufficient system by merely using a sacrificial cosubstrate (isopropanol) and a catalytic amount of cofactor F420 or the unnatural cofactor FOP to achieve full conversion. This study reveals that deazaflavoenzymes complement the biocatalytic toolbox for enantioselective ketone reductions.
Highlights
Effective procedures for the synthesis of optically pure alcohols are highly valuable
This study reveals that deazaflavoenzymes complement the biocatalytic toolbox for enantioselective ketone reductions
Several methods allow for the production of chiral alcohols and an effective method involves the enantioselective reduction of prochiral ketones by alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs)
Summary
IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Document Version Version created as part of publication process; publisher's layout; not normally made publicly available. More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverneamendment. Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum
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