Hydroxynitrile lyases aldehydes

The hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL)-catalyzed addition of HCN to aldehydes is the most important synthesis of non-racemic cyanohydrins. Since now not only (f )-PaHNL from almonds is available in unlimited amounts, but the recombinant (S)-HNLs from cassava (MeHNL) and rubber tree (HbHNL) are also available in giga units, the large-scale productions of non-racemic cyanohydrins have become possible. The synthetic potential of chiral cyanohydrins for the stereoselective preparation of biologically active compounds has been developed during the last 15 years. 

Hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs or oxynitrilases) catalyze C—C bond-forming reactions between an aldehyde or ketone and cyanide to form enantiopure cyanohydrins (Figure 1.15), which are versatile building blocks for the chiral synthesis of amino acids, hydroxy ketones, hydroxy acids, amines and so on [68], Screening of natural sources has led to the discovery of both... 

Roberge, C., Eleitz, E., Pollard, D. and Devine, P., Asymmetric synthesis of cyanohydrin derived from pyridine aldehyde with cross-linked aggregates of hydroxynitrile lyases. Tetrahedron Lett., 2007, 48, 1473-1477. 

The production of optically active cyanohydrins, with nitrile and alcohol functional groups that can each be readily derivatized, is an increasingly significant organic synthesis method. Hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) enzymes have been shown to be very effective biocatalysts for the formation of these compounds from a variety of aldehyde and aliphatic ketone starting materials.Recent work has also expanded the application of HNLs to the asymmetric production of cyanohydrins from aromatic ketones. In particular, commercially available preparations of these enzymes have been utilized for high ee (5)-cyanohydrin synthesis from phenylacetones with a variety of different aromatic substitutions (Figure 8.1). 

Chiral hydroxynitriles are useful synthetic intermediates. They can be prepared using errzymatic synthesis in reactions between aldehydes or ketones and hydrogen cyanide (Griengl et al., 1997) (Figme 9.10). There are different kinds of ertzymes (hydroxynitrile lyases) catalysing the formation of the (R)- and the (S)-enantiomers, respectively. It is a problem that the reactants can react spontaneously as well. 

Aliphatic aldehydes have been converted to their (R)-cyanohydrins using a bipha-sic system to accommodate hydroxynitrile lyase enzyme (from the Japanese apricot, Prunus mume) as the enantioselective catalyst.251... 

The hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) class of enzymes, also referred to as oxynitrilases, consists of enzymes that catalyze the formation of chiral cyanohydrins by the stereospecific addition of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) to aldehydes and ketones (Scheme 19.36).275 279 These chiral cyanohydrins are versatile synthons, which can be further modified to prepare chiral a-hydroxy acids, a-hydroxy aldehydes and ketones, acyloins, vicinal diols, ethanolamines, and a- and P-amino acids, to name a few.280 Both (R)- and (.S )-selective HNLs have been isolated, usually from plant sources, where their natural substrates play a role in defense mechanisms of the plant through the release of HCN. In addition to there being HNLs with different stereo-preferences, two different classifications have been defined, based on whether the HNL contains a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) co-factor. 

In particular, the use of hydroxynitrile lyase has proved to be a general and reliable method for obtaining a-hydroxy nitriles of both configurations [22]. An interesting approach is the Upase- and baseacyl-cyanohydrin for a synthetic DKR [23]. This is a combination of two reaction systems the dynamic, base-catalyzed equiUbrium between acetone cyanohydrin, acetone, HCN, aldehyde and a racemic cyanohydrin and the lipase-catalyzed enantioselective and irreversible acylation of the hydroxyl group. The combination yields the... 

Interest in the synthesis of enantiopure 2-hydroxycarboxylic acids via asymmetric enzymatic transformations is still increasing and two pathways have risen into prominence recently. The first is based on enantioselective hydrocyanation of the appropriate aldehyde in the presence of an oxynitrilase (hydroxynitrile lyase, EC 4.1.2.10), which gives rise to the corresponding enantiomerically pure cyanohydrin, followed by chemical hydrolysis in the presence of strong acid (Figure 16.1, route a). This latter step generates copious quantities of salt and is not compatible with sensitive functional groups, which is a serious limitation. 

In conclusion, the bienzymatic transformation of aldehydes and HCN into the enantiomerically pure 2-hydroxycarboxylic acids is feasible. The stereochemistry can be steered either by the hydroxynitrile lyase or by both enzymes in combination and the hydrocyanation equilibrium is no longer an issue because it can be shifted to complete conversion. The formation of large amounts of amide, in particular (S)-4a, somewhat reduces the immediate practical value of our procedure. Ways to obviate this unwanted side-reaction will be discussed later. 

Oxynitrilases or hydroxynitrile lyases (HNL) constitute a group of enzymes that catalyze the reversible addition of HCN to ketones and aldehydes. The natural role of these enzymes is a defence mechanism of higher plants against herbivores, whereby HCN is liberated from cyanoglucosides such as prunasin (almond, cherry, apple) by the action of a glycosidase and a hydroxynitrile lyase. 

The reason why these enzymes have received considerable attention over the years is that they display a high degree of enantiotopic selectivity on the prochiral aldehyde and ketone substrates. The selectivity of these enzymes is in many instances masked by the rate of spontaneous racemization of the cyanohydrins, which are prone to racemization under non-acidic conditions. This balance of selectivity of the enzymes versus the competition with the spontaneous racemization reaction as a function of the pH was described as early as 1921 using the hydroxynitrile lyase enzyme from peach leaves [22], These early experiments describe one of the challenges of applying hydroxynitrile lyases on an industrial scale. 

These two methods involve the potential release of toxic HCN during the reaction and a cleaner as well as a safer method is to use acetone cyanohydrin 128 as a cyanide transfer reagent. The enzyme from the Brazilian rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis, called a hydroxynitrile lyase, catalyses cyanohydrin formation from aliphatic as well as aromatic aldehydes.40... 

Promising results using hydroxynitrile lyases were achieved by Gaisberger et al. and Lou et al. in tetrafluoroborate-based ionic liquids, especially when using the enzyme from Prunus amygdalus. Gaisberger et al. used the lyases for reactions with long chain aldehydes. Lou et al. discovered increased thermal enzyme stability, improved enantioselectivity and enzymatic activity for a transcyanation reaction at low ionic liquid contents in buffer solution [52,53]... 

For the addition of cyanide (a Ci-synthon) to aldehydes by hydroxynitrile lyases see Sect. 2.5.1. For the sake of simplicity, the donor representing the umpolung reagent is drawn with bold C-C bonds throughout this chapter. 

Hydroxynitrile lyase enzymes catalyze the asymmetric addition of hydrogen cyanide onto a carbonyl group of an aldehyde or a ketone thus forming a chiral cyanohydrin [1520-1524], a reaction which was used for the first time as long ago as 1908 [1525]. Cyanohydrins are rarely used as products per se, but they represent versatile starting materials for the synthesis of several types of compounds [1526] ... 

The (5)-hydroxynitrile lyase from Hevea brasiliensis has been made available in sufficient quantities by cloning and overexpressirai to allow industrial-scale applications [1563]. It should be noted that also a,p-unsaturated aliphatic aldehydes were transformed into the corresponding cyanohydrins in a clean reaction. No formation of saturated p-cyano aldehydes through Michael-type addition of hydrogen cyanide across the C=C double bond occurred. The latter is a common side reaction using traditional methodology. 

By studying the ring opening of (rac)-2-phenyl-4-benzyl-5(4H)-oxazolone with butanol catalysed by CALB in organic media, it has been possible to correlate the protonation state of the enzyme with the enantioselectivity of the reaction [36]. The protonation state was controlled by the use of either organo-soluble bases or solid-state buffers of known pfC. Both triethylamine and the buffer pair CAPSO/CAPSO.Na [CAPSO = 3-(cyclohexylamino)-2-hydroxy-l-propanesulfonic acid] were found to increase the enantioselectivity of reactions catalysed by CALB and also the lipase from Mucor miehei. The effect of solvent, water activity and temperature on the enantioselectivity of reactions catalysed by lipases and hydroxynitrile lyases (enzymes that catalyse the addition of cyanide to aldehydes) has been reported [37]. 

The microreactor setup was also advantageous in high-throughput optimization experiments of hydroxynitrile lyase activity of cmde enzyme lysates for the enantios-elective synthesis of cyanohydrins from aldehydes [77] using only 150 pi samples... 

Figure 11.12 Possible pathways for the synthesis of higher value chemicals from ketones and aldehydes using hydroxynitrile lyase in a cascade reaction. R, and Rj = H, alkyl, aryl.

Like the benzoxazinones, cyanogenic glucosides belong to the preformed defense of the plant and are stored in the vacuole. Upon disruption of the plant tissue, they are degraded by P"glucosidases to the corresponding a-hydrox-ynitriles, which are hydrolyzed by a-hydroxynitrile lyases to aldehydes or ketones and toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) (Fig. 13). Since the a-hydroxynitriles are unstable, they can also... 

Cyanohydrin formation Aldehyde or ketone 2-Hydroxy nitrile Synthesis of 2-hydroxy nitriles Oxynitrilase (Hydroxynitrile lyase)... 

Enzymes of the hydroxynitrilase dass catalyze the addition of HCN to aldehydes, produdng cyanohydrins. Recendy, the reaction has been extended to a few ketones with modified hydroxynitrilase enzymes. In many cases, these are formed with good optical purities and such reactions are the simplest type of enzyme catalyzed carbon-carbon bond formation. By pairing hydroxynitrile lyases with nitrilases or nitrile hydratases, one-pot, multistep conversions become possible, and this also shifts the equilibrium to favor the addition products. Such concerns are particularly important when applying these catalysts to ketones where the equilibrium generally favors the starting carbonyl compound (Figure 1.17). 

Historically, enzyme catalysis has played a highly prominent role, with the first enzyme-catalyzed asymmetric addition of HCN to aldehydes dating back to 1908 [167]. A wide range of both aromatic and aliphatic ketones are suitable substrates and produce cyanohydrins of high optical purity. The most readily available and hence most commonly employed enzyme for asymmetric cyanohydrin formation is (R)-hydroxynitrile lyase isolated from almonds. Recent cloning and over-expression techniques have also made a number of (S)-hydroxynitrile lyases available for organic synthesis [164, 165]. This was utilized in Griengl s synthesis of coriolic acid (255), a natural product that displays calcium ionophoric activity and acts as a prostacyclin mimic (Scheme 2.32) [168]. Thus, an (S)-hydroxynitrile lyase was cloned from rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis), overexpressed in Pichia pastoris, and used to provide cyanohydrin 254 in 99 % ee. 

The (5)-hydroxynitrile lyase [EC 4.1.2.11] from S. bicolor catalyzes, as already mentioned, exclusively the addition of HCN to aromatic and hetereoaromatic aldehydes to yield the... 

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