Asymmetric synthesis using enzymes

Turner, N. J. Asymmetric Synthesis Using Enzymes and Whole Cells. In Advanced Asymmetric Synthesis, Stephenson, G. R. Ed., Chapman Hall London, 1996, p. 260. 

In synthetic operations, when a symmetrical (achiral) substrate is used, the product is racemic. Diastereomers are separated by physical methods, and the enantiomers of racemic amines are frequently obtained by fractional crystallization of diastereomeric salts formed with chiral acids. Although resolution of racemic amines by fractional crystallization of enantiomeric salts is still an important technique and the laboratory scale resolutions of many racemic amines have been reported , the separation of the enantiomers of chiral amines by chromatography " and their preparation by asymmetric synthesis using enzymes and other asymmetric catalysts have had extensive development during the... 

Asymmetric synthesis using enzymes to produce chiral precursors has been employed to prepare optically pure N-benzoyl-5-C-methyl-L-acosamine (21) by the sequence summarised in Scheme 6. A... 

Asymmetric Synthesis Using Cofactor-Requiring Enzymes... 

K., and Ikariya, T. (2005) Asymmetric synthesis using hydrolytic enzymes in supercritical carbon dioxide. Tetrahedron Asymmetry, 16 (5), 909-915. 

Hydrolytic enzymes such as esterases and Upases have proven particularly useful for asymmetric synthesis because of their abiUties to discriminate between enantiotopic ester and hydroxyl groups. A large number of esterases and Upases are commercially available in large quantities many are inexpensive and accept a broad range of substrates. 

A different approach to making chiral drugs is asymmetric synthesis. An optically inactive precursor is converted to the drug by a reaction that uses a special catalyst, usually an enzyme (Chapter 11). If all goes well, the product is a single enantiomer with the desired physiological effect In 2001, William S. Knowles, Ryogi Noyori, and K. Barry Sharpless won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for work in this area. 

Chiral epoxides and their corresponding vicinal diols are very important intermediates in asymmetric synthesis [163]. Chiral nonracemic epoxides can be obtained through asymmetric epoxidation using either chemical catalysts [164] or enzymes [165-167]. Biocatalytic epoxidations require sophisticated techniques and have thus far found limited application. An alternative approach is the asymmetric hydrolysis of racemic or meso-epoxides using transition-metal catalysts [168] or biocatalysts [169-174]. Epoxide hydrolases (EHs) (EC 3.3.2.3) catalyze the conversion of epoxides to their corresponding vicinal diols. EHs are cofactor-independent enzymes that are almost ubiquitous in nature. They are usually employed as whole cells or crude... 

Metabolic pathways containing dioxygenases in wild-type strains are usually related to detoxification processes upon conversion of aromatic xenobiotics to phenols and catechols, which are more readily excreted. Within such pathways, the intermediate chiral cis-diol is rearomatized by a dihydrodiol-dehydrogenase. While this mild route to catechols is also exploited synthetically [221], the chirality is lost. In the context of asymmetric synthesis, such further biotransformations have to be prevented, which was initially realized by using mutant strains deficient in enzymes responsible for the rearomatization. Today, several dioxygenases with complementary substrate profiles are available, as outlined in Table 9.6. Considering the delicate architecture of these enzyme complexes, recombinant whole-cell-mediated biotransformations are the only option for such conversions. E. coli is preferably used as host and fermentation protocols have been optimized [222,223]. 

Figure 10.36 Enzyme-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of a pancratistatin analog using a naphthalene dioxygenase and RhuA-catalyzed aldolization for the creation of four contiguous stereocenters.

Groger, H., Copan, E., Bathuber, A. and Vorlop, K. (2001) Asymmetric synthesis of an (R)-cyanohydrin using enzymes entrapped in lens-shaped gels. Organic Letters, 13, 1969-1971. 

Asymmetric synthesis refers to the conversion of an achiral starting material to a chiral product in a chiral environment. It is presently the most powerful and commonly used method for chiral molecule preparation. Thus far, most of the best asymmetric syntheses are catalyzed by enzymes, and the challenge before us today is to develop chemical systems as efficient as the enzymatic ones. 

Compound 168 is a key intermediate for the synthesis of prostaglandin or prostacyclin compounds. Scheme 5-50 shows its preparation via a retro Diels-Alder reaction and subsequent treatment. Using enzyme-catalyzed acetylation, Liu et al.80 succeeded in the asymmetric synthesis of enantiomerically pure (+)/ (—)-156 and (—)-168 from the meso-Aio 164. When treated with vinyl acetate, meso-diol 164 can be selectively acetylated to give (+)-165 in the presence of Candida cyclindracea lipase (CCL). The yield for the reaction is 81%, and the enantiomeric excess of the product is 98.3%. 

A final word needs to be said about the supposedly unique features of enzymes, namely, their ability to produce enantiomerically pure products. This is not the place to speculate about the stereospecificity of enzymes, a problem that has been discussed elegantly by Comforth (15). It cannot be denied that the high (>99.9%) enantiomeric purity achieved by enzymes may be uniquely useful in the case of liquid products. However, when crystalline products are obtained in an asymmetric synthesis and the e.e. exceeds 80%, crystallization to enantiomeric purity without excessive loss of material is routinely achieved. 

Peroxidases have been used very frequently during the last ten years as biocatalysts in asymmetric synthesis. The transformation of a broad spectrum of substrates by these enzymes leads to valuable compounds for the asymmetric synthesis of natural products and biologically active molecules. Peroxidases catalyze regioselective hydroxylation of phenols and halogenation of olefins. Furthermore, they catalyze the epoxidation of olefins and the sulfoxidation of alkyl aryl sulfides in high enantioselectivities, as well as the asymmetric reduction of racemic hydroperoxides. The less selective oxidative coupHng of various phenols and aromatic amines by peroxidases provides a convenient access to dimeric, oligomeric and polymeric products for industrial applications. 

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