Amide enzyme-catalyzed reactions

Biocatalytic hydrolysis or transesterification of esters is one of the most widely used enzyme-catalyzed reactions. In addition to the kinetic resolution of common esters or amides, attention is also directed toward the reactions of other functional groups such as nitriles, epoxides, and glycosides. It is easy to run these reactions without the need for cofactors, and the commercial availability of many enzymes makes this area quite popular in the laboratory. 

Phosphonates have been widely used as analogues of carboxylic acids. They have been particularly effective as analogues of tetrahedral transition states that occur in the course of enzyme-catalyzed reactions such as hydrolysis of the amide (peptide) bond. As such, they may be used as inhibitors of enzymes (e.g., 82, 83) or as haptens for producing antibodies that are catalytic (e.g., 84). A notable example is H203P— CH2—CH2—CH(—NH2)—COOH, which has effects that are likely to be due to its interference with glutamate as a neurotransmitter (85). 

The Influence of Fluoro Substituents On the Reactivity of Carboxylic Acids, Amides, and Peptides in Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions ... 

The dramatic increases in reaction rates that occur in enzyme-catalyzed reactions can be seen for representative systems in the data given in Table 2.2.4 The hydrolysis of the representative amide benzamide by acid or base yields second-order rate constants that are over six orders of magnitude lower than that measured for ben-zoyl-L-tyrosinamide in the presence of the enzyme a-chymotrypsin. An even more dramatic rate enhancement is observed for the hydrolysis of urea The acid-catalyzed hydrolysis is nearly 13 orders of magnitude slower than hydrolysis with the enzyme urease. The disprotionation of hydrogen peroxide into water and molecular oxygen is enhanced by a factor of 1 million in the presence of catalase. 

In the previous Section 12.1 the formation of amides from the corresponding nitriles is well addressed. The latter method, the enzyme catalyzed reaction of carboxylic esters or acids with ammonia or amines yielding amides, has only recently been studied in depth. Encouraging results have been described, especially in the field of amidation of esters, a technology now being used by BASF to produce optically pure amines (vide infra). 

When amino acids are metabolized, the excess nitrogen is concentrated into uric acid, a compound with five amide bonds. A series of enzyme-catalyzed reactions degrades uric acid to ammonium ion. The extent to which uric acid is de-... 

The Mechanisms for Two Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions That Are Reminiscent of Acid-Catalyzed Amide Hydrolysis 1115... 

THE MECHANISMS FOR TWO ENZYME-CATALYZED REACTIONS THAT ARE REMINISCENT OF ACID-CATALYZED AMIDE HYDROLYSIS... 

The complex thioamide lolrestat (8) is an inhibitor of aldose reductase. This enzyme catalyzes the reduction of glucose to sorbitol. The enzyme is not very active, but in diabetic individuals where blood glucose levels can. spike to quite high levels in tissues where insulin is not required for glucose uptake (nerve, kidney, retina and lens) sorbitol is formed by the action of aldose reductase and contributes to diabetic complications very prominent among which are eye problems (diabetic retinopathy). Tolrestat is intended for oral administration to prevent this. One of its syntheses proceeds by conversion of 6-methoxy-5-(trifluoroniethyl)naphthalene-l-carboxyl-ic acid (6) to its acid chloride followed by carboxamide formation (7) with methyl N-methyl sarcosinate. Reaction of amide 7 with phosphorous pentasulfide produces the methyl ester thioamide which, on treatment with KOH, hydrolyzes to tolrestat (8) 2[. 

The mechanism for the lipase-catalyzed reaction of an acid derivative with a nucleophile (alcohol, amine, or thiol) is known as a serine hydrolase mechanism (Scheme 7.2). The active site of the enzyme is constituted by a catalytic triad (serine, aspartic, and histidine residues). The serine residue accepts the acyl group of the ester, leading to an acyl-enzyme activated intermediate. This acyl-enzyme intermediate reacts with the nucleophile, an amine or ammonia in this case, to yield the final amide product and leading to the free biocatalyst, which can enter again into the catalytic cycle. A histidine residue, activated by an aspartate side chain, is responsible for the proton transference necessary for the catalysis. Another important factor is that the oxyanion hole, formed by different residues, is able to stabilize the negatively charged oxygen present in both the transition state and the tetrahedral intermediate. 

A Streptomyces enzyme that catalyzes hydrolysis of capsaicin is described by Koreishi et The substrate is an A -vanillyl aliphatic amide, and the authors found that their enzyme also accepted A lauroyl amino acids as substrates. The enzyme was used successfully to catalyze the reaction in the opposite direction, driving the equilibrium toward synthesis by running it in buffer containing 78% glycerol. Yields of 5-40% were obtained for a wide range of natural L-amino acids. In the case of L-lysine the enzyme catalyzed acylation at both amino groups, with a clear preference for the e-NH2. 

Peptidylglycine monooxygenase [EC 1.14.17.3], also known as peptidyl a-amidating enzyme and peptidylglycine 2-hydroxylase, catalyzes the reaction of a peptidylglycine with ascorbate and dioxygen to produce a pepti-dyl(2-hydroxyglycine), dehydroascorbate, and water. 

Two typical hydrolase-catalyzed reactions are shown in Scheme 4.3. It is important to note that these reactions are reversible, and in water the equilibrium of course favors hydrolysis. However, the use of hydrophobic organic solvents allows the acylation to give e.g., esters and amides using hydrolases as catalysts. Many of these enzymes are commercially available and can be used in hydrophobic organic solvents as received, and because they are insoluble in the reaction medium they can easily be recovered by filtration and used again. 

Enzyme-based processes for the resolution of chiral amines have been widely reported [2, 3] and are used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, for example, BASF s process for chiral benzylic amine intermediates. Scheme 13.1 [4]. The methods used are enantioselective hydrolysis of an amide and enantioselective synthesis of an amide, both of which are kinetic resolutions. For high optical purity products the processes depend upon a large difference in the catalyzed reaction rates of each enantiomer. 

N-oxidation. The oxidation of nitrogen in tertiary amines, amides, imines, hydrazines, and heterocyclic rings may be catalyzed by microsomal enzymes or by other enzymes (see below). Thus the oxidation of trimethylamine to anN-oxide (Fig. 4.19) is catalyzed by the microsomal FAD-containing mono oxygenase. The N-oxide so formed may undergo enzyme-catalyzed decomposition to a secondary amine and aldehyde. This N to C transoxygenation is mediated by cytochromes P-450. The N-oxidation of 3-methylpyridine, however, is catalyzed by cytochromes P-450. This reaction may be involved in the toxicity of the analogue,... 

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