The Synthesis of Amino Acids

Glycine is the simplest member of a large and very important class of compounds, the a-amino-carboxylic acids. TTiere are many different methods available for the synthesis of amino-acids, but glycine can be readily prepared by the action of an excess of ammonia on chloroacetic acid ... 

Biotransformations are carried out by either whole cells (microbial, plant, or animal) or by isolated enzymes. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. In general, multistep transformations, such as hydroxylations of steroids, or the synthesis of amino acids, riboflavin, vitamins, and alkaloids that require the presence of several enzymes and cofactors are carried out by whole cells. Simple one- or two-step transformations, on the other hand, are usually carried out by isolated enzymes. Compared to fermentations, enzymatic reactions have a number of advantages including simple instmmentation reduced side reactions, easy control, and product isolation. 

Assimilatory nitrate reduction Conversion of nitrate to reduced forms of nitrogen, generally ammonium, for the synthesis of amino acids and proteins. 

One of the oldest methods for the synthesis of amino acids dates back to the nineteenth century and is simply a nucleophilic substitution in which ammonia reacts with an a-halo carboxylic acid. 

Among other reactions proceeding with the retention of the heterocyclic nucleus may be noted the synthesis of amino acids of the isoxazole series from isoxazole-5-aldehydes/ the successful extension of the Schmidt reaction to 3-acylisoxazoles, and the synthesis of various polycyclic heterocycles, e.g. 101 102, involving the isoxa-... 

Auxotrophic mutant lack one or more enzymes involved in the synthesis of amino acids (such as tyrosine). This prevents accumulation of the amino acid and thus avoids feedback inhibition of enzymatic steps in the L-phenylalanine pathway. 

Macko, S.A., Fogel, M.L., Hare, P.E. and Hoering, T.C. 1987 Isotopic fractionation ofnitrogen and carbon in the synthesis of amino acids by microorganisms. Chemical Geology (Isotope Geoscience Section) 65 79-92. 

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... 

This version of the Curtius rearrangement has been applied to the synthesis of amino acid analogs and structures containing amino acids. Several m-2-aminocyclopropane carboxylate esters were prepared by selective hydrolysis of cyclopropane-1,2-dicarboxylates, followed by reaction with DPPA.267... 

Another method for the synthesis of amino-acid amides entails the conversion of N-( 1 -benzotriazolylcarbonyl) amino acids with amines in anhydrous or aqueous systems C1101... 

Formation of the very unstable dehydroalanine derivatives A p-dimethylaminophe-nyl- and Af-p-nitrophenyhnethylenedehydroalanine methyl ester could only be verified by -NMR. Because of Michael-type reactions with cuprates, the iV-arylmethylenedehy-droalanine methyl esters have been applied as building blocks in the synthesis of amino acids.[18]... 

Fig. 8.2 Model for the synthesis of amino acids from alpha-keto acid precursors covalently attached to dinucleotides. The dinucleotide that is capable of catalyzing synthesis of particular amino acids is proposed to contain the first two bases of the codon specifying that amino acid (Copley et al., 2005)...

General procedures for the synthesis of the imidazole core have been published in 2000. Solvent-free microwave assisted synthesis of 2,4,5-substituted imidazoles 64 from aldehydes 62 and 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds 63 in the presence of ammonium acetate and alumina has been reported <00TL5031>. V-protected a-amino glyoxals 65 were utilized as potential chiral educts for the synthesis of amino acid-derived imidazoles 66 <00TL1275>. 

Perhaps the one major drawback with DIPAMP is the long synthetic sequence required for its preparation, though shorter and cheaper methods are now available [12]. The ligand continues to be a player for the synthesis of amino acid derivatives at scale, including L-Dopa, as mentioned above [12, 25, 27-29]. Its continued use is a testament to the power of the initial discoveries, as well as showing that a chemical catalyst can achieve selectivities only previously seen with enzymes. 

Strecker reactions provide one of the most efficient methods for the synthesis of a-amino nitriles, which are useful intermediates in the synthesis of amino acids and nitrogen-containing heterocycles. Although classical Strecker reactions have some limitations, use of trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) as a cyano anion source provides promising and safer routes to these compounds.133-351 Consequently, we focused our attention on tributyltin cyanide (Bu3SnCN), because Bu3SnCN is stable in water and is also a potential cyano anion source. Indeed, the Strecker-type reactions of aldehydes, amines, and Bu3SnCN proceeded smoothly in water (Eq. 9).1361 It should be noted that no surfactants are required in this reaction. Furthermore, Complete recovery of the toxic tin compounds is also possible in the form of bis(tributyltin) oxide after the reaction is over. Since conversion of bis(tributyltin) oxide to tributyltin cyanide is known in the literature, this procedure provides a solution to the problem associated with toxicity of tin compounds. 

In 1973, the synthesis of amino acids containing pendant theophylline and other nucleic acid bases, and the polymerization of NCA compounds derived therefrom have studied by our group ( 16). 

R. Rai, V. Taneja, Papain Catalysed Hydantoin Hydrolysis in the Synthesis of Amino Acids Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 1998, 244, 889-892. 

The most noteworthy multistage element cycles in which bacteria play important roles are the nitrogen and sulfur redox cycles. The fixation of nitrogen is a reductive process that provides organisms with nitrogen in a form usable for the synthesis of amino acids, nucleic acids, and other cell constituents. In essence, the overall conversion to the key intermediate, ammonia, can be represented as ... 

The synthesis of amino acids depends upon the ami-nation of the Krehs cycle intermediate 2-oxoglutarate... 

The synthesis of <>=-amino acids is important because they are used extensively in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and as chiral ligands. The Strecker reaction is historically one of the most versatile ways to synthesize =-amino acids, but this method yields only 50% of a single enantiomer. Higher yields can be achieved by using chiral auxiliaries, but auxiliaries are often high in cost and low in availability. 

Sulfonamides are used for controlling urinary tract infections, acute and chronic lung infections (norcadiosis), protozoan infections of the nervous system (i.e., toxoplasmosis), and a variety of infections in humans and livestock. Their mode of activity is by inhibiting the multiplication of bacteria by competitively inhibiting para-aminobenzioc acid (PABA) in the folic acid metabolism cycle (O Neil et al., 2001). More specifically, they block the synthesis of folic acid in bacteria as the drugs are structurally similar to PABA. Folic acid is essential to the synthesis of amino acids and nucleic acids. In bacteria, folic acid is synthesized from PABA... 

For the synthesis of amino acids, the reaction of an a-haloalkyl boronic ester 4 with sodium azide and a phase-transfer catalyst in dichloromethane/water requires a large excess of azide in order to form the a-azidoalkyl boronic ester 5 with only 1-2% epimer34. With the exception of R1 = benzyl, where epimerization of 4 is relatively rapid, bromoalkyl boronic esters are preferred. Chloroalkyl boronic esters react so slowly that the azide and dichloromethane may generate hazardously explosive diazidomethane65,66. Chain extension of 5 to 6 proceeds normally. Sodium chlorite, which is known to oxidize aldehydes to carboxylic acids67-69, also oxidizes a-chloroalkyl boronic esters to carboxylic acids34. The azido acid is hydrogenated to the amino acid. 

Reduced forms of folic acid are required for essential biochemical reactions that provide precursors for the synthesis of amino acids, purines, and DNA. Folate deficiency is not uncommon, even though the deficiency is easily corrected by administration of folic acid. The consequences of folate deficiency go beyond the problem of anemia because folate deficiency is implicated as a cause of congenital malformations in newborns and may play a role in vascular disease (see Folic Acid Supplementation A Public Health Dilemma). 

Tetrahydrofolate receives one-carbon fragments from donors such as serine, glycine, and histidine and transfers them to intermediates in the synthesis of amino acids, purines, and thymine—a pyrimidine found in DNA. ... 

The synthesis of amino acids in which a nonfunctionalized alkyl group is covalently connected to the a-nitrogen has been discussed vide supra). In this section the synthesis of N-substituted amino acids in which the alkyl chain bears a protected functional group is discussed. The resulting amino acids have the general formula /Va-(m-functionalized alkyl) amino acids 28 (Scheme 17). These amino acids were developed for the solid-phase synthesis of backbone cyclic peptides 70 (see also Vol. E 22b, Section 6.8.3.2.4) [in this case they were called building units (BU)], for the synthesis of PNA 71 and for the synthesis of peptoids. 72 (In this case they were called monomers.)... 

Nucleophilic phosphorus species are employed in the synthesis of amino acid analogues by condensation with imine derivatives, in parallel with the classical Strecker reaction. A variety of methods are available, depending on the selection of the phosphorus reagents and the imine precursors. 

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