Guidelines for the Application of NAD(P)H Regenerating Glucose Dehydrogenase in Synthetic Processes

Redox Out of the Box: Catalytic Versatility Across NAD(P)H-Dependent Oxidoreductases

The asymmetric reduction of double bonds using NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductases has proven to be an efficient tool for the synthesis of important chiral molecules in research and on industrial scale. These enzymes are commercially available in screening kits for the reduction of C=O (ketones), C=C (activated alkenes), or C=N bonds (imines). Recent reports, however, indicate that the ability to accommodate multiple reductase activities on distinct C=X bonds occurs in different enzyme classes, either natively or after mutagenesis. This challenges the common perception of highly selective oxidoreductases for one type of electrophilic substrate. Consideration of this underexplored potential in enzyme screenings and protein engineering campaigns may contribute to the identification of complementary biocatalytic processes for the synthesis of chiral compounds. This review will contribute to a global understanding of the promiscuous behavior of NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductases on C=X bond reduction and inspire future discoveries with respect to unconventional biocatalytic routes in asymmetric synthesis.

Design of a cofactor self-sufficient whole-cell biocatalyst for enzymatic asymmetric reduction via engineered metabolic pathways and multi-enzyme cascade

NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductases are crucial biocatalysts for synthesizing chiral compounds. Yet, the industrial implementation of enzymatic redox reactions is often hampered by an insufficient supply of expensive nicotinamide cofactors. Here, a cofactor self-sufficient whole-cell biocatalyst was developed for the enzymatic asymmetric reduction of 2-oxo-4-[(hydroxy)(-methyl)phosphinyl] butyric acid (PPO) to L-phosphinothricin (L-PPT). The endogenous NADP+ pool was significantly enhanced by regulating Preiss-Handler pathway toward NAD(H) synthesis and, in the meantime, introducing NAD kinase to phosphorylate NAD(H) toward NADP+. The intracellular NADP(H) concentration displayed a 2.97-fold increase with the strategy compared with the wild-type strain. Furthermore, a recombinant multi-enzyme cascade biocatalytic system was constructed based on the Escherichia coli chassis. In order to balance multi-enzyme co-expression levels, the strategy of modulating rate-limiting enzyme PmGluDH by RBS strengths regulation successfully increased the catalytic efficiency of PPO conversion. Finally, the cofactor self-sufficient whole-cell biocatalyst effectively converted 300 mM PPO to L-PPT in 2 h without the need to add exogenous cofactors, resulting in a 2.3-fold increase in PPO conversion (%) from 43% to 100%, with a high space-time yield of 706.2 g L-1 d-1 and 99.9% ee. Overall, this work demonstrates a technological example for constructing a cofactor self-sufficient system for NADPH-dependent redox biocatalysis.

Biocatalytic Reduction Reactions from a Chemist's Perspective

Reductions play a key role in organic synthesis, producing chiral products with new functionalities. Enzymes can catalyse such reactions with exquisite stereo-, regio- and chemoselectivity, leading the way to alternative shorter classical synthetic routes towards not only high-added-value compounds but also bulk chemicals. In this review we describe the synthetic state-of-the-art and potential of enzymes that catalyse reductions, ranging from carbonyl, enone and aromatic reductions to reductive aminations.

Novel Routes in Transformation of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Furan Platform Chemicals: From Pretreatment to Enzyme Catalysis

The constant depletion of fossil fuels along with the increasing need for novel materials, necessitate the development of alternative routes for polymer synthesis. Lignocellulosic biomass, the most abundant carbon source on the planet, can serve as a renewable starting material for the design of environmentally-friendly processes for the synthesis of polyesters, polyamides and other polymers with significant value. The present review provides an overview of the main processes that have been reported throughout the literature for the production of bio-based monomers from lignocellulose, focusing on physicochemical procedures and biocatalysis. An extensive description of all different stages for the production of furans is presented, starting from physicochemical pretreatment of biomass and biocatalytic decomposition to monomeric sugars, coupled with isomerization by enzymes prior to chemical dehydration by acid Lewis catalysts. A summary of all biotransformations of furans carried out by enzymes is also described, focusing on galactose, glyoxal and aryl-alcohol oxidases, monooxygenases and transaminases for the production of oxidized derivatives and amines. The increased interest in these products in polymer chemistry can lead to a redirection of biomass valorization from second generation biofuels to chemical synthesis, by creating novel pathways to produce bio-based polymers.

One-Pot Conversion of Cinnamaldehyde to 2-Phenylethanol via a Biosynthetic Cascade Reaction

A novel biosynthetic pathway for the production of natural 2-phenylethanol from cinnamaldehyde is reported. An ene-reductase (OYE)-mediated selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde to hydrocinnamaldehyde is followed by a regioselective Baeyer-Villiger oxidation (BVMO) to produce the corresponding formate ester that either spontaneously hydrolyzes to 2-phenylethanol in water or is assisted by a formate dehydrogenase (FDH). This cascade reaction is performed in a one-pot fashion at ambient temperature and pressure. High selectivity and complete conversion were achieved.

Process development for oxidations of hydrophobic compounds applying cytochrome P450 monooxygenases in-vitro

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases are a unique family of enzymes that are able to catalyze regio- and stereospecific oxidations for a broad substrate range. However, due to limited enzyme activities and stabilities, hydrophobicity of substrates, as well as the necessity of a continuous electron and oxygen supply the implementation of P450s for industrial processes remains challenging. Aim of this study was to point out key aspects for the development of an efficient synthesis concept for cytochrome P450 catalyzed oxidations. In order to regenerate the natural cofactor NADPH, a glucose dehydrogenase was applied. The low water soluble terpene α-ionone was used as substrate for the model reaction system. The studies reveal that an addition of surfactants in combination with low volumetric amounts of co-solvent can significantly increase substrate availability and reaction rates. Furthermore, these additives facilitated a reliable sampling procedure during the process. Another key factor for the process design was the oxygen supply. Based on various investigations, a bubble-aerated stirred tank reactor in batch mode represents a promising reactor concept for P450 oxidations. Main restriction of the investigated reaction system was the low process stability of the P450 monooxygenase, characterized by maximum total turnover numbers of ∼4100molα-ionone/molP450.

A high effective NADH-ferricyanide dehydrogenase coupled with laccase for NAD(+) regeneration

OBJECTIVES

To find an efficient and cheap system for NAD(+) regeneration

RESULTS

A NADH-ferricyanide dehydrogenase was obtained from an isolate of Escherichia coli. Optimal activity of the NADH dehydrogenase was at 45 °C and pH 7.5, with a K m value for NADH of 10 μM. By combining the NADH dehydrogenase, potassium ferricyanide and laccase, a bi-enzyme system for NAD(+) regeneration was established. The system is attractive in that the O2 consumed by laccase is from air and the sole byproduct of the reaction is water. During the reaction process, 10 mM NAD(+) was transformed from NADH in less than 2 h under the condition of 0.5 U NADH dehydrogenase, 0.5 U laccase, 0.1 mM potassium ferricyanide at pH 5.6, 30 °C CONCLUSION: The bi-enzyme system employed the NADH-ferricyanide dehydrogenase and laccase as catalysts, and potassium ferricyanide as redox mediator, is a promising alternative for NAD(+) regeneration.

Structural basis for double cofactor specificity in a new formate dehydrogenase from the acidobacterium Granulicella mallensis MP5ACTX8

Formate dehydrogenases (FDHs) are considered particularly useful enzymes in biocatalysis when the regeneration of the cofactor NAD(P)H is required, that is, in chiral synthesis with dehydrogenases. Their utilization is however limited to the recycling of NAD(+), since all (apart one) of the FDHs characterized so far are strictly specific for this cofactor, and this is a major drawback for their otherwise wide applicability. Despite the many attempts performed to modify cofactor specificity by protein engineering different NAD(+)-dependent FDHs, in the general practice, glucose or phosphite dehydrogenases are chosen for the recycling of NADP(+). We report on the functional and structural characterization of a new FDH, GraFDH, identified by mining the genome of the extremophile prokaryote Granulicella mallensis MP5ACTX8. The new enzyme displays a valuable stability in the presence of many organic cosolvents as well as double cofactor specificity, with NADP(+) preferred over NAD(+) at acidic pH values, at which it also shows the highest stability. The quite low affinities for both cofactors as well as for the substrate formate indicate, however, that the native enzyme requires optimization to be applied as biocatalytic tool. We also determined the crystal structure of GraFDH both as apoprotein and as holoprotein, either in complex with NAD(+) or NADP(+). Noticeably, the latter represents the first structure of an FDH enzyme in complex with NADP(+). This fine picture of the structural determinants involved in cofactor selectivity will possibly boost protein engineering of the new enzyme or other homolog FDHs in view of their biocatalytic exploitation for NADP(+) recycling.

Cofactor Specificity Engineering of Streptococcus mutans NADH Oxidase 2 for NAD(P)(+) Regeneration in Biocatalytic Oxidations

Soluble water-forming NAD(P)H oxidases constitute a promising NAD(P)(+) regeneration method as they only need oxygen as cosubstrate and produce water as sole byproduct. Moreover, the thermodynamic equilibrium of O2 reduction is a valuable driving force for mostly energetically unfavorable biocatalytic oxidations. Here, we present the generation of an NAD(P)H oxidase with high activity for both cofactors, NADH and NADPH. Starting from the strictly NADH specific water-forming Streptococcus mutans NADH oxidase 2 several rationally designed cofactor binding site mutants were created and kinetic values for NADH and NADPH conversion were determined. Double mutant 193R194H showed comparable high rates and low K m values for NADPH (k cat 20 s(-1), K m 6 µM) and NADH (k cat 25 s(-1), K m 9 µM) with retention of 70% of wild type activity towards NADH. Moreover, by screening of a SeSaM library S. mutans NADH oxidase 2 variants showing predominantly NADPH activity were found, giving further insight into cofactor binding site architecture. Applicability for cofactor regeneration is shown for coupling with alcohol dehydrogenase from Sphyngobium yanoikuyae for 2-heptanone production.