Biotransformations in organic chemistry

History of biotransformations wine and beer fermentation 6000 B.C. Summer, Babylon bread 4000 B. C. Egypt Industrial production of fine chemicals: L-Lactic acid 1880 USA

Biotransformation in chiral separation Pasteur 1858

Industrial production of efedrine 1921 Industrial production of ascorbic acid 1924

Biotransformations tissue cell cultures (plant cells) whole cells (bacteria, yeast) immobilized cells cell extracts isolated native enzymes recombinant enzymes modified/mutated enzymes stabilized enzymes (cross-linking) immobilized enzymes/multi-enzyme systems

Advantages of enzymatically catalyzed reactions high reaction specificity high regioselectivity high stereoselectivity (enantioselectivity, diastereoselectivity) good efficiency (high turnover) mild reaction conditions environmental friendly (green) processes For most organic reactions there are some enzymes that efficiently catalyze them; if not, artificial enzymes could be developed by in vitro evolution. Enzymes catalyze reverse reactions.

Disadvantages and problems of biotransformations sensitivity to harsh reaction conditions (low or high temperatures, pressure, pH, reagents) high prices of many enzymes problematic co-factor regeneration (multi-enzyme systems) low conversions in some reactions (inhibition by the product) narrow substrate specificity of some enzymes limited use of non-aqueous solvents high dilutions (low volume efficiency) Enzymes only lower activation barrier (accelerate reactions) – they do not influence reaction balance!!!

Chirality

Enzymes in productions of enantiopure chiral compounds

Enzymes

Oxidoreductases

Oxidoreductases

OXIDATIONS

REDUCTIONS

Stereo- and regiospecific hydroxylation of non-activated CH peroxidases, monoxygenases

Oxidative deaminations/reductive aminations

TRANSFERASES OR LIGASES used mostly for phosphorylations

Enzymatic phosphorylations

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Enzymatic sulfation of saccharides with the regeneration of the PAPS cofactor. left: proposed transition state of the reaction.

HYDROLASES – hydrolyses or condensations

                                                                                             Fig. 2. Typical biotransformations with enantioselective amidohydrolases in whole cells of R. equi, A. aurescens and R. globerulus.

Dynamic kinetic resolution – enzyme + racemization catalyst

Dynamic kinetic resolution – enzyme + racemization reagent

Enantioconvergent synthesis

R. Lerner, K. Janda and P. Schultz – Scripps Catalytic antibodies If one accepts the basic principle that catalytic function results from the selective use of binding energy to stabilize transition states or to destabilize ground states preferentially, then the problem is simplified to one of synthesizing highly selective molecular receptors. While this remains a major challenge for synthetic chemistry, there does exist a biological solution to the problem of molecular recognition. It is a well-known fact in immunochemistry that the immune response can generate an antibody that is complementary to virtually any foreign molecular structure presented to it. The process whereby these selective, high-affinity receptors are generated resembles in many ways the natural evolution of enzymes. R. Lerner, K. Janda and P. Schultz – Scripps

Table 1. A comparison of the evolution of enzymes and antibodies. exon shuffling V-D-J rearrangement gene duplication batteries of V, D, and J gene elements accumulation of point somatic hypermutation mutations natural selection clonal selection timescale: 101-108 years timescale: weeks

The generation of immunological diversity by genetic recombination and somatic mutation.

Immunization

Transesterification a) Acyl transfer from the ester 6 to the alcohol 7, catalyzed by antibody 21H3, which was generated against the hapten 9; b) modeled structure of the acyl-antibody intermediate based on the X-ray crystal structure of the antibody-hapten 9 complex.

Acyl transfer from the ester 2 to the alcohol 1 catalyzed by antibody 13D6.1, which was generated against the phosphonate diester 5; NMR structure of the Michaelis complex, with 1 shown in blue and 2 in orange.

Oxy-Cope rearrangement Transition-state analogue 19 and the oxy-Cope rearrangement catalyzed by antibody AZ28. Overlay of the active sites for the germline antibody structures of AZ28 with the hapten 19 (blue) and without hapten (green). The hapten is shown in yellow.

Aldolization a) Broad substrate scope of antibody-catalyzed aldol reactions. The two antibodies have antipodal activities; b) substrate binding pockets for the antibodies 33F12 (left) and 93F3 (right). The light chain is shown in pink and the heavy chain in blue. The active-site lysine residue is also shown.

Generation of an aldolase antibody by reactive immunization with the 2-diketone hapten 13.