Enzymes in Organic Chemistry

Biocatalysts usually require mild reaction conditions for an optimal activity (physiologic temperature and pH) and, in general, they show high activity, chemo- and enantioselectivity. Furthermore, when using enzymes, many functional group protections and/or activations can be avoided, allowing shorter synthetic transformations. The use of enzymes is therefore very attractive from an environmental and economic point of view. 

In this chapter, DKRs will be categorized according to the racemization method employed, as being catalyzed by (i) a metal, (ii) a base, (hi) an acid, (iv) an aldehyde, or (v) an enzyme. Also racemizations that take place through continuous cleavage/ formation of the substrate, or through 5 2 displacement, among other methods, will be discussed. In most cases, the racemization method of choice depends on the structure of the substrate. In all cases, the KR is catalyzed by an enzyme. 

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As mentioned in part 2.1.3 hydrolytic enzymes are the most frequently used enzymes in organic chemistry. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, they are easy to ttse because they do not need cofactors like the oxidoreductases. Secondly, there are a large amormt of hydrolytic enzymes available because of their industrial interest. For instance detergent enzymes comprise proteases, celltrlases, amylases and lipases. Even if hydrolytic enzymes catalyse a chemically simple reaction, many important featirres of catalysis are still contained such as chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity and specificity. 

Lipases are the most frequently used enzymes in organic chemistry, catalyzing the hydrolysis of carboxylic acid esters or the reverse reaction in organic solvents [3,5,34,70]. The first example of directed evolution of an enantioselective enzyme according to the principle outlined in Fig. 11.2 concerns the hydrolytic kinetic resolution of the chiral ester 9 catalyzed by the bacterial lipase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa [8], This enzyme is composed of 285 amino acids [32]. It is an active catalyst for the model reaction, but enantioselectivity is poor (ee 5 % in favor of the (S)-acid 10 at about 50 % conversion) (Fig. 11.10) [71]. The selectivity factor E, which reflects the relative rate of the reactions of the (S)- and (R)-substrates, is only 1.1. 

Li, Y.-F., and Hammerschmidt, F., Enzymes in organic chemistry. Part 1. Enantioselective hydrolysis of a-(acyloxy iphosphonates by esterolytic enzymes, Tetrahedron Asymmetry, 4, 109, 1993. Benayoud, F and Hammond, G.B., An expedient synthesis of (a,a-difluoroprop-2-ynyl)phosphonate esters, J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1447, 1996. 

Dehydrogenases are extremely useful enzymes in organic chemistry. They can be divided into different groups according to the substrates used (Hummel 1999). 

A review of phosphates and phosphonates of biochemical interest includes some carbohydrate examples. A theoretical study has been carried out to determine the anomeric effect of phosphate groups (see also Chapter 21). Enzymic syntheses of sugar phosj hates are included in a review of enzymes in organic chemistry. 

Li YF, Hammerschmidt F (1993) Enzymes in organic chemistry, part 1 Enantioselective hydrolysis of a-(acyloxy) phosphonates by esterolytic enzymes. Tetrahedron Asymmetry 4 109-120... 

I. Bolte, C. Demuynck, H. Samald, Utilization of enzymes in organic chemistry transketolase catalyzed synthesis of ketoses. Tetrahedron Lett. 28 (1987) 5525-5528. 

Hammerschmidt F, Lindner W, Wuggenig F, Zarbl E. Enzymes in organic chemistry. Part 10. Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of L-phosphaserine and L-phosphaisoserine and enantioseparation of amino-hydroxyethylphosphonic acids by non-aqueous capdlary electrophoresis with quinine carbamate as chiral ion pair agent. Tetrahedron Asymm. 2000 11 2955-2964. 

For a review on epoxide hydrolases and related enzymes in the context of organic synthesis, see Faber, K. Biotransformations in Organic Chemistry, Springer New York 2004. 

In many cases, the racemization of a substrate required for DKR is difficult As an example, the production of optically pure cc-amino acids, which are used as intermediates for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and as chiral synfhons in organic chemistry [31], may be discussed. One of the important methods of the synthesis of amino acids is the hydrolysis of the appropriate hydantoins. Racemic 5-substituted hydantoins 15 are easily available from aldehydes using a commonly known synthetic procedure (Scheme 5.10) [32]. In the next step, they are enantioselectively hydrolyzed by d- or L-specific hydantoinase and the resulting N-carbamoyl amino acids 16 are hydrolyzed to optically pure a-amino acid 17 by other enzymes, namely, L- or D-specific carbamoylase. This process was introduced in the 1970s for the production of L-amino acids 17 [33]. For many substrates, the racemization process is too slow and in order to increase its rate enzymes called racemases are used. In processes the three enzymes, racemase, hydantoinase, and carbamoylase, can be used simultaneously this enables the production of a-amino acids without isolation of intermediates and increases the yield and productivity. Unfortunately, the commercial application of this process is limited because it is based on L-selective hydantoin-hydrolyzing enzymes [34, 35]. For production of D-amino acid the enzymes of opposite stereoselectivity are required. A recent study indicates that the inversion of enantioselectivity of hydantoinase, the key enzyme in the... 

Aldoximes are prepared from aldehydes and hydroxylamine by condensation reaction, and the dehydration reaction of aldoxime is one of the most important methods of nitrile synthesis in organic chemistry." We speculated that it would become one of the most important examples in Green Chemistry if the dehydration reaction could be realized by an enzymatic method, and started studies on a new enzyme, aldoxime dehydratase, and its use in enzymatic nitrile synthesis. Furthermore, we clarified the relationship between aldoxime dehydratase and nitrile-degrading enzymes in the genome of the microorganisms and the physiological role of the enzyme. 

The mechanisms utilized by enzymes are essentially those in organic chemistry. 

The final part is devoted to a survey of molecular properties of special interest to the medicinal chemist. The Theory of Atoms in Molecules by R. F.W. Bader et al., presented in Chapter 7, enables the quantitative use of chemical concepts, for example those of the functional group in organic chemistry or molecular similarity in medicinal chemistry, for prediction and understanding of chemical processes. This contribution also discusses possible applications of the theory to QSAR. Another important property that can be derived by use of QC calculations is the molecular electrostatic potential. J.S. Murray and P. Politzer describe the use of this property for description of noncovalent interactions between ligand and receptor, and the design of new compounds with specific features (Chapter 8). In Chapter 9, H.D. and M. Holtje describe the use of QC methods to parameterize force-field parameters, and applications to a pharmacophore search of enzyme inhibitors. The authors also show the use of QC methods for investigation of charge-transfer complexes. 

For a while, in the early 1990s, the interest in the use of enzymes in organic synthesis increased at an almost exponential rate and two-volume works were needed even to summarize developments in the field151. Now, at the turn of the century, it is abundantly clear that the science of biotransformations has a significant role to play in the area of preparative chemistry however, it is, by no stretch of the imagination, a panacea for the synthetic organic chemist. Nevertheless, biocatalysis is the method of choice for the preparation of some classes of optically active materials. In other cases the employment of man-made catalysts is preferred. In this review, a comparison will be made of the different methods available for the preparation of various classes of chiral compounds161. 

Andrew Regan was born in Rawtenstall, Lancashire and studied at the University of Cambridge, where he obtained his BA in 1981 (MA 1985), and his PhD in 1984, under the supervision of Professor Jim Staunton. From 1984-1985 he held an SERC-NATO Research Fellowship at Columbia University in the laboratories of Professor Gilbert Stork. He returned to the UK in 1985 to a lectureship in organic chemistry at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and since 1990 has been a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Manchester. His research interests include the synthesis of phosphinic-acid hormone mimics, simplified macrolide antibiotics and anti-tumour compounds, stereoselective methodology, and the use of enzymes in synthesis. 

CDs are cyclic oligosaccharides comprised of a-l,4-linked glucopyr-anose units (37- 0). The following properties make CDs attractive components in organic chemistry and supramolecular catalysis/ enzyme mimics in particular (i) CDs are water soluble (ii) their hydrophobic cavity can host a variety of lipophilic guest molecules ... 

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