Product Ee Research Articles

Enhancing the imidase activity of BpIH toward 3-isobutyl glutarimide via semi-rational design

(R)-3-Isobutylglutarate monoamide (R-IBM) is a key intermediate in the synthesis of the analgesic drug pregabalin. Recently, the imidase BpIH derived from Burkholderia phytofirmans was identified as a promising catalyst for the industrial production of R-IBM. Notably, this catalyst has the distinct advantage of achieving a 100% theoretical yield from 3-isobutyl glutarimide (IBI). In this study, homology modeling and structure alignment techniques were used to determine the substrate binding pocket of BpIH. Semi-rational design was used to analyze the amino acid residue conservation in the binding pocket region of BpIH. Interestingly, mutations of several low-conserved amino acid located 6–9 Å from the substrate significantly enhanced the catalytic activity of BpIH. Among them, the triple mutant Y37FH133NS226I (YHS-I) showed approximately a fivefold increase in enzyme activity and a significantly improved catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km). Under the same reaction time and conditions, YHS-I successfully converted IBI into R-IBM with a conversion rate of 88.87%, with an enantiomeric excess (ee) of the product exceeding 99.9%. In comparison, wild-type BpIH had a conversion rate of only 38.15%. Molecular dynamics and docking results indicated that YHS-I had higher rigidity around the mutation sites. The synergistic substitutions of Y37F, H133N, and S226I altered the interaction network within the mutation site, enhancing the protein’s affinity for the substrate and improving catalytic efficiency.Key points• 100% theoretical yield of R-IBM by BpIH compared with 50% by resolution• Semi-rational design of BpIH based on conservativity with homologous enzymes• Mutant with enzyme activity of sixfold and product ee value of 99.9%

Green and Enantioselective Synthesis via Cascade Biotransformations: From Simple Racemic Substrates to High-Value Chiral Chemicals.

Asymmetric synthesis of chiral chemicals in high enantiomeric excess (ee) is pivotal to the pharmaceutical industry, but classic chemistry usually requires multi-step reactions, harsh conditions, and expensive chiral ligands, and sometimes suffers from unsatisfactory enantioselectivity. Enzymatic catalysis is a much greener and more enantioselective alternative, and cascade biotransformations with multi-step reactions can be performed in one pot to avoid costly intermediate isolation and minimise waste generation. One of the most attractive applications of enzymatic cascade transformations is to convert easily available simple racemic substrates into valuable functionalised chiral chemicals in high yields and ee. Here, we review the three general strategies to build up such cascade biotransformations, including enantioconvergent reaction, dynamic kinetic resolution, and destruction-and-reinstallation of chirality. Examples of cascade transformations using racemic substrates such as racemic epoxides, alcohols, hydroxy acids, etc. to produce the chiral amino alcohols, hydroxy acids, amines, and amino acids are given. The product concentration, ee, and yield, scalability, and substrate scope of these enzymatic cascades are critically reviewed. To further improve the efficiency and practical applicability of the cascades, enzyme engineering to enhance catalytic activities of the key enzymes using the latest microfluidics-based ultrahigh-throughput screening and artificial intelligence-guided directed evolution could be a useful approach.

Efficient and Scalable Enantioselective Synthesis of a Key Intermediate for Rimegepant: An Oral CGRP Receptor Antagonist

Rimegepant is a calcitonin gene-related peptide antagonist used for acute treatment and prevention of migraine. We herein attempt to explore an efficient and practiced method for scale-up, regio- and enantioselective synthesis of (R)-9-hydroxy-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-cyclohepta[b]pyridin-5-one (1), a key intermediate of rimegepant. In this work, a Ru-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) reaction was a key step. The optimization of the reaction conditions involved exploring the reaction parameters including catalysts, bases, and solvents. The results suggested that the Ru-catalyzed ATH process using formic acid as the hydrogen donor could be operated under mild conditions at a low catalyst loading (0.5 mol%), affording a high yield (92.1% yield with 99.8% purity) and gratifying enantioselectivity (99.9% ee) of the target product (1). This work first reported the Ru-catalyzed ATH process in the synthesis of key intermediates of rimegepant. The optimized ATH process was easy to implement and cost-effective, making it particularly suitable for manufacturing scale production.

Phosphine‐Catalyzed (3+2) Annulation of Morita‐Baylis‐Hillman Carbonates with Pyrazolinone‐Derived Ketimines: Synthesis of Spirodihydropyrrole‐Dihydropyrazolones

AbstractA phosphine‐catalyzed (3+2) annulation of Morita‐Baylis‐Hillman carbonates with pyrazolinone‐derived ketimines has been achieved to give various spirodihydropyrrole‐dihydropyrazolones in moderate to high yields with good diastereoselectivities. The reaction tolerated diverse MBH carbonates and ketimines. Both scale‐up reaction and further transformation of the product were successfully performed. In addition, up to 98 % ee of chiral product was obtained with the use of chiral bifunctional phosphine.

Desilylation‐Promoted Phosphine Catalysis: Intramolecular Annulation/Nucleophilic Addition Sequence of Trimethylsilylethynyl Benzoxazinanones with N‐Tosyl Imines

AbstractUnder phosphine catalysis facilitated through desilylation, intramolecular annulation/nucleophilic addition of trimethylsilylethynyl benzoxazinanones with electron‐deficient imines or alkenes was achieved to afford a series of indole derivatives in moderate to high yields. The trimethylsilylethynyl benzoxazinanones without electron‐withdrawing group on the alkyne moiety functioned as phosphine acceptors. Notably, the distinctive desilylation activation played a key role in catalytic process. Particularly, those indole derivatives could be readily transformed into various biologically significant γ‐carboline compounds. The use of chiral phosphine achieved asymmetric reaction, leading to a 95% ee of product.

N-Fluorenyltryptamines as a Useful Platform for Catalytic Enantio­selective Pictet–Spengler Reactions

AbstractIn the presence of a thiourea–carboxylic acid catalyst, N-9-fluorenyltryptamines undergo highly enantioselective Pictet–Spengler reactions with a range of aldehydes. The reaction works particularly well with aromatic aldehydes, tolerating electronically diverse substituents in all ring positions. Electron-deficient tryptamines are viable substrates. Removal of the fluorenyl protecting group is readily accomplished without deterioration of product ee.

Efficient bioreduction of cyclohexyl phenyl ketone by Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides N13 biocatalyst using a distance-based design-focused optimization model

Whole-cell biocatalysts have been a popular method for the preparation of chiral alcohols. Although asymmetric reduction of cyclohexyl(phenyl)methanone (1) by chemical catalysts is common, a biocatalytic asymmetric reduction is extremely rare. In this respect, we report herein that Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides N13 was successfully employed as a biocatalyst to reduce 1 to (S)-cyclohexyl(phenyl)methanol ((S)-2). Furthermore, the use of a mathematical optimization strategy for asymmetric reduction of substrate 1 is not known in the current literature. The new distance-based design-focused optimization model was used to enhance the conversion of the substrate, enantiomeric excess (ee) of product, and yield. The distance-based design-focused optimization model identified the following optimal bioreduction conditions: pH=6.46, temperature=30°C, incubation period=72 hours, and agitation speed=199 rpm. Then it was stated that under these ideal conditions, (S)-2 may be produced with 99 % ee and 98.46 % conversion rate (cr). (S)-2 was achieved with 99% ee, and 99% cr as a consequence of the experimental reaction carried out under the indicated optimization conditions. It has been shown that Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides N13 can be utilized as a biocatalyst in asymmetric reduction reactions. This study, in addition to being the first example of a bioreduction of substrate 1 by mathematical optimization, also demonstrates for the first time the distance-based design-focused model can be used in the bioreduction reaction.

Selected Ion Monitoring Using Low-Cost Mass Spectrum Detectors Provides a Rapid, General, and Accurate Method for Enantiomeric Excess Determination in High-Throughput Experimentation.

High-Throughput Experimentation (HTE) workflows are efficient means of surveying a broad array of chiral catalysts in the development of catalytic asymmetric reactions. However, use of traditional HPLC-UV/vis methodology to determine enantiomeric excess (ee) from the resulting reactions is often hampered by co-elution of other reaction components, resulting in erroneous ee determination when crude samples are used, and ultimately requiring product isolation prior to ee analysis. In this study, using four published reactions selected as model systems, we demonstrate that the use of LC-MS, SFC-MS, and selected ion monitoring (SIM) mass chromatography provides a highly accurate means to determine ee of products in crude reaction samples using commonplace, low-cost MS detectors. By using ion selection, co-eluting signals can be deconvoluted to provide accurate integrations of the target analytes. We also show that this method is effective for samples lacking UV/vis chromophores, making it ideal for HTE workflows in asymmetric catalysis.

Kinetic Rationalization of Nonlinear Effects in Asymmetric Catalytic Cascade Reactions under Curtin-Hammett Conditions.

Observations of nonlinear effects of catalyst enantiopurity on product enantiomeric excess in asymmetric catalysis are often used to infer that more than one catalyst species is involved in one or more reaction steps. We demonstrate here, however, that in the case of asymmetric catalytic cascade reactions, a nonlinear effect may be observed in the absence of any higher order catalyst species or any reaction step involving two catalyst species. We illustrate this concept with an example from a recent report of an organocatalytic enantioselective [10 + 2] stepwise cyclization reaction. The disruption of pre-equilibria (Curtin–Hammett equilibrium) in reversible steps occurring prior to the final irreversible product formation step can result in an alteration of the final product ee from what would be expected based on a linear relationship with the enantiopure catalyst. The treatment accounts for either positive or negative nonlinear effects in systems over a wide range of conditions including “major-minor” kinetics or the more conventional “lock-and-key” kinetics. The mechanistic scenario proposed here may apply generally to other cascade reaction systems exhibiting similar kinetic features and should be considered as a viable alternative model whenever a nonlinear effect is observed in a cascade sequence of reactions.

Controllably crosslinked dual enzymes enabled by genetic-encoded non-standard amino acid for efficiently enantioselective hydrogenation.

In traditional method for preparing crosslinked enzymes aggregates using glutaraldehyde, random linkage is inevitable, which often destroys the enzyme active sites and severely decreases the activity. To address this issue, using genetic encode expanding, nonstandard amino acids (NSAAs) were inserted into enzyme proteins at the preselected sites for crosslinking. When aldehyde ketone reductase (AKR), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) were utilized as model enzymes, their mutants containing p-azido-L-phenylalanine were bio-orthogonally crosslinked with diyne to form crosslinked dual enzymes (CLDEs) acting as a cascade biological oxidation and reduction system. Then, the resultant self-purified CLDEs were characterized using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), etc. In the asymmetric synthesis of (S)-1-(2,6-dichloro-3-fluorophenyl) ethanol using CLDEs, high product yield (76.08%), ee value (99.99%) and reuse stability were achieved. The yield and ee value were 12.05 times and 1.39 times higher than those using traditional crosslinked enzyme aggregates, respectively. Thus, controllable insertion NSAAs in number and location can engender reasonable linkage and metal-free self-purification for target enzyme proteins. This facile and sustainable method could be further expanded to other dual and multienzyme systems for cascade biocatalysis.

Reductive enzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution affording 115 g/L\xa0(S)-2-phenylpropanol

BackgroundPublished biocatalytic routes for accessing enantiopure 2-phenylpropanol using oxidoreductases afforded maximal product titers of only 80 mM. Enzyme deactivation was identified as the major limitation and was attributed to adduct formation of the aldehyde substrate with amino acid residues of the reductase.ResultsA single point mutant of Candida tenuis xylose reductase (CtXR D51A) with very high catalytic efficiency (43·103 s−1 M−1) for (S)-2-phenylpropanal was found. The enzyme showed high enantioselectivity for the (S)-enantiomer but was deactivated by 0.5 mM substrate within 2 h. A whole-cell biocatalyst expressing the engineered reductase and a yeast formate dehydrogenase for NADH-recycling provided substantial stabilization of the reductase. The relatively slow in situ racemization of 2-phenylpropanal and the still limited biocatalyst stability required a subtle adjustment of the substrate-to-catalyst ratio. A value of 3.4 gsubstrate/gcell-dry-weight was selected as a suitable compromise between product ee and the conversion ratio. A catalyst loading of 40 gcell-dry-weight was used to convert 1 M racemic 2-phenylpropanal into 843 mM (115 g/L) (S)-phenylpropanol with 93.1% ee.ConclusionThe current industrial production of profenols mainly relies on hydrolases. The bioreduction route established here represents an alternative method for the production of profenols that is competitive with hydrolase-catalyzed kinetic resolutions.

Reversal of Enantioselectivity in the Conjugate Addition Reaction of Cyclic Enones with the CuOTf/Azolium Catalytic System

Hydroxyamide-functionalized azolium salt (NHC•HI 4) was evaluated for dual enantioselective control in a Cu-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition (ACA) reaction. This investigation was based on our previously reported ACA reaction catalyzed using CuOTf combined with NHC•AgI complex 1. It was revealed that the stereocontrol of the catalytic ACA reaction depended on the order of the addition of the substrates. Additionally, the chiral NHC ligand precursors, substrates, the relationship between the catalyst ee (eecat) and product ee (eepro), and halogen counter anion were completely evaluated. These results suggested that the catalytic performance of the CuOTf/4 system was comparable with that of the CuOTf/1 system. Furthermore, to gain knowledge of the Cu species generated using CuOTf and NHC ligand precursor, the reaction of CuOTf with 1 was investigated. Although obtaining the corresponding NHC•CuX species failed, the corresponding NHC•AuCl complex 11 could be synthesized by allowing 1 to react with AuCl•SMe2.

Kinetics of enzyme-catalysed desymmetrisation of prochiral substrates: product enantiomeric excess is not always constant.

The kinetics of enzymatic desymmetrisation were analysed for the most common kinetic mechanisms: ternary complex ordered (prochiral ketone reduction); ping-pong second (ketone amination, diol esterification, desymmetrisation in the second half reaction); ping-pong first (diol ester hydrolysis) and ping-pong both (prochiral diacids). For plausible values of enzyme kinetic parameters, the product enantiomeric excess (ee) can decline substantially as the reaction proceeds to high conversion. For example, an ee of 0.95 at the start of the reaction can decline to less than 0.5 at 95% of equilibrium conversion, but for different enzyme properties it will remain almost unchanged. For most mechanisms a single function of multiple enzyme rate constants (which can be termed ee decline parameter, eeDP) accounts for the major effect on the tendency for the ee to decline. For some mechanisms, the concentrations or ratios of the starting materials have an important influence on the fall in ee. For the application of enzymatic desymmetrisation it is important to study if and how the product ee declines at high conversion.

Absence of Non‐Linear Effects Despite Evidence for Catalyst Aggregation

AbstractAn in‐depth study of the catalytic system, consisting of the enantioselective addition of ZnEt2 to benzaldehyde with (1R,2S)‐(−)‐N‐Methylephedrine (NME) as chiral ligand, suggests the presence of dimeric and trimeric aggregates, as deduced from product ee vs. catalyst loading and NMR investigations (1H, DOSY). Formation of catalyst aggregation was excluded in earlier studies as this system displays a linear product ee vs. ligand ee‐correlation, which is usually taken as an indication for the absence of catalyst aggregation. A subsequent theoretical study, using the monomer‐dimer competition model, which we have recently developed, highlights the possible parameter configurations leading to linear product ee vs. ligand ee plots – despite the presence of catalyst dimers. It shows that, while the Kagan and Noyori models allow linearity in very specific cases only, a multitude of scenarios may lead to linearity here, especially if heterochiral dimers are catalytically active.

Efficient biosynthesis of (S)-1-[2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethanol by a novel isolate Geotrichum silvicola ZJPH1811 in deep eutectic solvent/cyclodextrin-containing system

This study aimed to develop a biotransformation process for the production of (S)-1-[2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethanol, a key chiral intermediate of Plk1 inhibitor, and increase its productivity through medium engineering strategy. A fungus isolate Geotrichum silvicola ZJPH1811 was adopted as biocatalyst for 2ʹ-(trifluoromethyl)acetophenone reduction, and gave the best performance with > 99.2% product ee. To improve the yield, choline acetate/cysteine (ChAc/Cys) was introduced as co-solvent in reaction system, which accelerated mass transfer and protected cells from substrate inhibition. Moreover, a synergistic effect of methylated-β-cyclodextrin (MCD) and ChAc/Cys was found in the bioreduction, with further enhancement in substrate concentration and cell membrane permeability. Compared with buffer system, in the developed ChAc/Cys-MCD-containing system, substrate loading and product yield were increased by 6.7-fold and 2.4-fold respectively. This is the first report on (S)-1-[2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethanol production with G. silvicola, and provides valuable insight into the synergistic effect of DES and CDs in biocatalysis.

Enantioselective Conjugate Addition of Stabilized Arylzinc Iodide to Enones: an Improved Protocol of the Hayashi Reaction

AbstractStabilised arylzinc iodide, prepared by direct insertion of zinc into aryl iodides, were used as nucleophiles in the Hayashi Rh‐catalysed enantioselective conjugate addition to enones. The reaction conditions were optimized in the addition of phenylzinc iodide to 2‐cyclohexen‐1‐one, obtaining good yields and 99% ee of the addition product. The general applicability of the protocol was checked using different arylzinc iodides and enones. Organometallic reagents endowed with both halogen and electrophilic groups were also successfully used.magnified image

Production of enantiomerically enriched chiral carbinols using whole-cell biocatalyst

Biocatalytic asymmetric reduction of ketone is an efficient method for the production of chiral carbinols. The study indicates selective bioreduction of different ketones (1–8) to their respective (R)-alcohols (1a–8a) in low to high selectivity (0- >99%) with good yields (11–96%). In this work, whole-cell of Lactobacillus kefiri P2 catalysed enantioselective reduction of various prochiral ketones was investigated. (R)-4-Phenyl-2-butanol 2a, which is used as a precursor to antihypertensive agents and spasmolytics (anti-epileptic agents), was obtained using L kefiri P2 in 99% conversion and 91% enantiomeric excess (ee). Moreover, bioreduction of 2-methyl-1-phenylpropan-1-one substrate 8, containing a branched alkyl chain and difficult to asymmetric reduction with chemical catalysts as an enantioselective, to (R)-2-methyl-1-phenylpropan-1-ol (8a) in enantiomerically pure form was carried out in excellent yield (96%). The gram-scale production was carried out, and 9.70 g of (R)-2-methyl-1-phenylpropan-1-ol (8a) in enantiomerically pure form was obtained in 96% yield. Also especially, the yield and gram scale of (R)-2-methyl-1-phenylpropan-1-ol (8a) synthesised through catalytic asymmetric reduction using the biocatalyst was the highest report so far. The efficiency of L kefiri P2 for the conversion of the substrates and ee of products were markedly influenced by the steric factors of the substrates. This is a cheap, clean and eco-friendly process for production of chiral carbinols compared to chemical processes.

Enantioselective Transesterification of Allyl Alcohols with (E)-4-Arylbut-3-en-2-ol Motif by Immobilized Lecitase™ Ultra

Lecitase™ Ultra was immobilized on four different supports and tested for the first time as the biocatalyst in the kinetic resolution of racemic allyl alcohols with the (E)-4-arylbut-3-en-2-ol system in the process of transesterification. The most effective biocatalyst turned out to be the enzyme immobilized on agarose activated with cyanogen bromide (LU-CNBr). The best results (E > 200, ees and eep = 95–99%) were obtained for (E)-4-phenylbut-3-en-2-ol and its analog with a 2,5-dimethylphenyl ring whereas the lowest ee of kinetic resolution products (90%) was achieved for the substrate with a 4-methoxyphenyl substituent. For all substrates, (R)-enantiomers were esterified faster than their (S)-antipodes. The results showed that LU-CNBr is a versatile biocatalyst, showing high activity and enantioselectivity in a wide range of organic solvents in the presence of commonly used acyl donors. High operational stability of LU-CNBr allows it to be reused in three subsequent reaction cycles without negative effects on the efficiency and enantioselectivity of transesterification. This biocatalyst can become attractive to the commercial lipases in the process of the kinetic resolution of allyl alcohols.

An integrated separation process for recovery and enantioseparation of amlodipine from wastewater: Supported liquid membrane-aqueous/organic phase crystallization

An integrated separation process is proposed for recovery and enantioseparation of a chiral antihypertensive drug amlodipine from wastewater. Utilizing this integrated technology, both high recovery (Y) and high enantiomeric excess (ee) were obtained due to the strong enrichment ability of supported liquid membrane with strip dispersion (SLM-SD) and the good enantioseparation ability of organic phase crystallization. These two steps were coupled by an intermediate step: aqueous phase crystallization. In the SLM-SD, an extractant P204 (bi(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid) was dissolved in n-heptane to form a liquid membrane phase, and hydrochloric acid was used as stripping agent. One-stage SLM-SD recycled the amlodipine from wastewater into a stripping phase with a removal (EAD) of 99.67% and a Y1,AD of 87.91% after optimizing the parameters: pH and the concentrations of P204, hydrochloric acid, and amlodipine. Sodium hydroxide and (L)-tartaric acid were added into the stripping aqueous phase to obtain amlodipine-1/2(L)-tartrate acid crystals, which were directly used in the subsequent organic phase crystallization without tedious additional steps. The Y2, AD of aqueous phase crystal reached 99% at a pH of over 6.68 and a molar ratio of over 0.5 for (L)-tartrate acid to amlodipine. Using (L)-tartaric acid or (D)-tartaric acid as resolving agent and dimethylsulfoxide as solvent, high-value-added products (R)-amlodipine and (S)-amlodipine were obtained by two steps of organic phase crystallization. The ee of products was over 99% after optimizing the dosages of dimethylsulfoxide and resolving agent. To increase the total yield, the generated mother liquors were re-treated by SLM-SD with the recovery of over 99% for residual amlodipine.

Thermal and Mechanical Stability of Immobilized Candida antarctica Lipase B: an Approximation to Mechanochemical Energetics in Enzyme Catalysis.

AbstractVery recently, several successful enzymatic processes performed with mechanical activation have been disclosed; that is, despite the mechanical stress caused by High‐Speed Ball‐Milling, immobilized enzymes can retain activity. In the present study, the effect of thermal and mechanical stress was examined as potential inducers of enzymatic denaturation, when using either free, immobilized, or ground immobilized enzyme. The recorded observations show a remarkable stability of ground immobilized enzyme. Moreover, ground biocatalyst turns out to exhibit an increase of one order of magnitude in the efficiency of the catalytic process, maintaining excellent enantiodiscrimination, without significant activity loss even after four milling cycles. These observations rule out enzyme inactivation as direct consequence of the milling process. Additionally, boosted enzyme efficiency was used to optimize a relatively inefficient chiral amine resolution reaction, achieving a 25 % faster biotransformation (in 45 min) and yielding essentially enantiopure products (ee>99%, E>500).