Organocatalysis and Biocatalysis Hand in Hand: Combining Catalysts in One-Pot Procedures

Peptide and Enzyme Catalysts Work in Concert in Stereoselective Cascade Reactions-Oxidation followed by Conjugate Addition

Enzymes and peptide catalysts consist of the same building blocks but require vastly different environments to operate best. Herein, we show that an enzyme and a peptide catalyst can work together in a single reaction vessel to catalyze a two-step cascade reaction with high chemo- and stereoselectivity. Abundant linear alcohols, nitroolefins, an alcohol oxidase, and a tripeptide catalyst provided chiral γ-nitroaldehydes in aqueous buffer. High yields (up to 92 %) and stereoselectivities (up to 98 % ee) were achieved for the cascade through the rational design of the peptide catalyst and the identification of common reaction conditions.

Chemoenzymatic Oxosulfonylation-Bioreduction Sequence for the Stereoselective Synthesis of β-Hydroxy Sulfones

A series of optically active β-hydroxy sulfones has been obtained through an oxosulfonylation-stereoselective reduction sequence in aqueous medium. Firstly, β-keto sulfones were synthesized from arylacetylenes and sodium sulfinates to subsequently develop the carbonyl reduction in a highly selective fashion using alcohol dehydrogenases as biocatalysts. Optimization of the chemical oxosulfonylation reaction was investigated, finding inexpensive iron(III) chloride hexahydrate (FeCl₃  ⋅ 6H₂ O) as the catalyst of choice. The selection of isopropanol in the alcohol-water media resulted in high compatibility with the enzymatic process for enzyme cofactor recycling purposes, providing a straightforward access to both (R)- and (S)-β-hydroxy sulfones. The practical usefulness of this transformation was illustrated by describing the synthesis of a chiral intermediate of Apremilast. Interestingly, the development of a chemoenzymatic cascade approach avoided the isolation of β-keto sulfone intermediates, which allowed the preparation of chiral β-hydroxy sulfones in high conversion values (83-94 %) and excellent optical purities (94 to >99 % ee).

Combining bio- and organocatalysis for the synthesis of piperidine alkaloids

There is continued interest in developing cascade processes for the synthesis of key chiral building blocks and bioactive natural products (or analogues). Here, we report a hybrid bio-organocatalytic cascade for the synthesis of a small panel of 2-substituted piperidines, relying on a transaminase to generate a key reactive intermediate for the complexity building Mannich reaction.

Taurine: A Water Friendly Organocatalyst in Organic Reactions

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Organocatalysis has become a powerful tool in organic synthesis for the formation of C-C and C-X (N, S, O, etc.) bonds, leading to the formation of complex molecules from easily available starting materials. It provides an alternative platform to the conventional synthesis and fulfills the principles of green chemistry. During the last decades, taurine has emerged as a promising organocatalyst in an array of organic transformations in addition to its plentiful biological properties. It is highly stable, easy to store and separate, water-soluble, of low cost, easily available, and recyclable. The present article highlights the recent and up-to-date applications of taurine in organic transformations.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Densely Substituted Dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles via a Taurine-Catalyzed Green Multicomponent Approach

An efficient taurine-catalyzed green multicomponent approach has been described for the first time to synthesize densely substituted therapeutic core dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles. Applications of the developed synthetic strategies and technologies revealed the synthesis of a series of newly designed 1,4-dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles containing isonicotinamide, spirooxindole, and indole moieties. Detailed in silico analysis of the synthesized analogues revealed their potential to bind wild-type and antibiotic-resistant variants of dihydrofolate reductase, a principal drug target enzyme for emerging antibiotic-resistant pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus strains. Hence, the synthesized dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole derivatives presented herein hold immense promise to develop future antistaphylococcal therapeutic agents.

Lewis Base-Brønsted Acid-Enzyme Catalysis in Enantioselective Multistep One-Pot Syntheses

Establishing one-pot, multi-step protocols combining different types of catalysts is one important goal for increasing efficiency in modern organic synthesis. In particular, the high potential of biocatalysts still needs to be harvested. Based on an in-depth mechanistic investigation of a new organocatalytic protocol employing two catalysts {1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO); benzoic acid (BzOH)}, a sequence was established providing starting materials for enzymatic refinement (ene reductase; alcohol dehydrogenase): A gram-scale access to a variety of enantiopure key building blocks for natural product syntheses was enabled utilizing up to six catalytic steps within the same reaction vessel.

Organocatalysis emerging as a technology

During the last 20 years, organocatalysis has significantly advanced as a field. Thanks to contributions from hundreds of groups and companies around the world, the area has risen from a few mechanistically ill-defined niche reactions, to one of the most vibrant and innovative fields in chemistry, providing several well-defined generic activation modes for selective catalysis. Organocatalysis is also on the rise in industrial settings, especially for the production of enantiomers, which are of use in fine chemistry, pharma, crop-protection, and fragrance chemistry. Here we will look at some of the specific elements of organocatalysis that we think are particularly attractive and contribute to this successful development.

Alcohol Dehydrogenases and N-Heterocyclic Carbene Gold(I) Catalysts: Design of a Chemoenzymatic Cascade towards Optically Active β,β-Disubstituted Allylic Alcohols

The combination of gold(I) and enzyme catalysis is used in a two-step approach, including Meyer-Schuster rearrangement of a series of readily available propargylic alcohols followed by stereoselective bioreduction of the corresponding allylic ketone intermediates, to provide optically pure β,β-disubstituted allylic alcohols. This cascade involves a gold N-heterocyclic carbene and an enzyme, demonstrating the compatibility of both catalyst types in aqueous medium under mild reaction conditions. The combination of [1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene][bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)-imide]gold(I) (IPrAuNTf₂ ) and a selective alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH-A from Rhodococcus ruber, KRED-P1-A12 or KRED-P3-G09) led to the synthesis of a series of optically active (E)-4-arylpent-3-en-2-ols in good yields (65-86 %). The approach was also extended to various 2-hetarylpent-3-yn-2-ol, hexynol, and butynol derivatives. The use of alcohol dehydrogenases of opposite selectivity led to the production of both allyl alcohol enantiomers (93->99 % ee) for a broad panel of substrates.

Bio-purification of sugar industry wastewater and production of high-value industrial products with a zero-waste concept

In recent years, biorefinery approach with a zero-waste concept has gained a lot research impetus to boost the environment and bioeconomy in a sustainable manner. The wastewater from sugar industries contains miscellaneous compounds and need to be treated chemically or biologically before being discharged into water bodies. Efficient utilization of wastewater produced by sugar industries is a key point to improve its economy. Thus, interest in the sugar industry wastes has grown in both fundamental and applied research fields, over the years. Although, traditional methods being used to process such wastewaters are effective yet are tedious, laborious and time intensive. Considering the diverse nature of wastewaters from various sugar-manufacturing processes, the development of robust, cost-competitive, sustainable and clean technologies has become a challenging task. Under the recent scenario of cleaner production and consumption, the biorefinery and/or close-loop concept, though using different technologies and multi-step processes, namely, bio-reduction, bio-accumulation or biosorption using a variety of microbial strains, has stepped-up as the method of choice for a sustainable exploitation of a wide range of organic waste matter along with the production of high-value products of industrial interests. This review comprehensively describes the use of various microbial strains employed for eliminating the environmental pollutants from sugar industry wastewater. Moreover, the main research gaps are also critically discussed along with the prospects for the efficient purification of sugar industry wastewaters with the concomitant production of high-value products using a biorefinery approach. In this review, we emphasized that the biotransformation/biopurification of sugar industry waste into an array of value-added compounds such as succinic acid, L-arabinose, solvents, and xylitol is a need of hour and is futuristic approach toward achieving cleaner production and consumption.

Enabling protein-hosted organocatalytic transformations

In this review, the development of organocatalytic artificial enzymes will be discussed. This area of protein engineering research has underlying importance, as it enhances the biocompatibility of organocatalysis for applications in chemical and synthetic biology research whilst expanding the catalytic repertoire of enzymes. The approaches towards the preparation of organocatalytic artificial enzymes, techniques used to improve their performance (selectivity and reactivity) as well as examples of their applications are presented. Challenges and opportunities are also discussed.

The various levels of integration of chemo- and bio-catalysis towards hybrid catalysis

Hybrid catalysis is an emerging concept that combines chemo- and biocatalysts in a wide variety of approaches. Combining the specifications and advantages of multiple disciplines, it is a very promising way to diversify tomorrow's catalysis.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Yohimbine Analogues by an Organocatalytic and Pot-Economic Strategy

An efficient and one-pot method has been developed for the enantioselective synthesis of pentacyclic indole derivatives with the yohimbane skeleton via a sequence of asymmetric Michael-Michael-Mannich-reduction-amidation-Bischler-Napieralski-reduction reactions with a high diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee). The seven-step reaction sequence, which generates five bonds and five stereocenters, can be conducted with a pot-economic synthetic strategy and one-pot operation in good yields. The structure and absolute stereochemistry of two products were confirmed by X-ray crystallography analysis.

Caged Proline in Photoinitiated Organocatalysis

Organocatalysis is an emerging field, in which small metal-free organic structures catalyze a diversity of reactions with a remarkable stereoselectivity. The ability to selectively switch on such pathways upon demand has proven to be a valuable tool in biological systems. Light as a trigger provides the ultimate spatial and temporal control of activation. However, there have been limited examples of phototriggered catalytic systems. Herein, we describe the synthesis and application of a caged proline system that can initiate organocatalysis upon irradiation. The caged proline was generated using the highly efficient 4-carboxy-5,7-dinitroindolinyl (CDNI) photocleavable protecting group in a four-step synthesis. Advantages of this system include water solubility, biocompatibility, high quantum yield for catalyst release, and responsiveness to two-photon excitation. We showed the light-triggered catalysis of a crossed aldol reaction, a Mannich reaction, and a self-aldol condensation reaction. We also demonstrated light-initiated catalysis, leading to the formation of a biocide in situ, which resulted in the growth inhibition of E. coli, with as little as 3 min of irradiation. This technique can be broadly applied to other systems, by which the formation of active forms of drugs can be catalytically assembled remotely via two-photon irradiation.

Thiol-free chemoenzymatic synthesis of β-ketosulfides

A preparation of β-ketosulfides avoiding the use of thiols is described. The combination of a multicomponent reaction and a lipase-catalysed hydrolysis has been developed in order to obtain high chemical diversity employing a single sulfur donor. This methodology for the selective synthesis of a set of β-ketosulfides is performed under mild conditions and can be set up in one-pot two-step and on a gram-scale.

New drugs for pharmacological extension of replicative life span in normal and progeroid cells

A high-throughput anti-aging drug screen was developed that simultaneously measures senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity and proliferation. Applied to replicatively pre-aged fibroblasts, this screen yielded violuric acid (VA) and 1-naphthoquinone-2-monoxime (N2N1) as its top two hits. These lead compounds extended the replicative life spans of normal and progeroid human cells in a dose-dependent manner and also extended the chronological life spans of mice and C. elegans. They are further shown here to function as redox catalysts in oxidations of NAD(P)H. They thus slow age-related declines in NAD(P)⁺/NAD(P)H ratios. VA participates in non-enzymatic electron transfers from NAD(P)H to oxidized glutathione or peroxides. N2N1 transfers electrons from NAD(P)H to cytochrome c or CoQ₁₀ via NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (quinone) 1 (NQO1). Our results indicate that pharmacologic manipulation of NQO1 activity via redox catalysts may reveal mechanisms of senescence and aging.

Two drugs were discovered that can extend the life spans of normally aged human cells and thus potentially slow human aging. The anti-aging drugs were identified using a novel method that screens drugs across a two-dimensional endpoint space of senescence-associated galactosidase activity as a general axis of aging and ATP as an axis representing proliferation. The two most potent substances were, likely more than coincidentally, electrons carriers that transfer electrons from NAD(P)H to molecules and cellular structures that demand reducing power to repair oxidative damage that accumulates with aging. Treatment of single cells and whole organisms with these new anti-aging drugs increased their lifespans. The mechanism of the drug action may advance our understanding of the complex, yet resolvable, biological process of aging.

Reaction Mechanism of Organocatalytic Michael Addition of Nitromethane to Cinnamaldehyde: A Case Study on Catalyst Regeneration and Solvent Effects

The Michael addition of nitromethane to cinnamaldehyde has been computationally studied in the absence of a catalyst and the presence of a biotinylated secondary amine by a combined computational and experimental approach. The calculations were performed at the density functional theory (DFT) level with the M06-2X hybrid functional, and a polarizable continuum model has been employed to mimic the effect of two different solvents: dichloromethane (DCM) and water. Contrary to common assumption, the product-derived iminium intermediate was absent in both of the solvents tested. Instead, hydrating the C1–C2 double bond in the enamine intermediate directly yields the tetrahedral intermediate, which is key for forming the product and regenerating the catalyst. Enamine hydration is concerted and found to be rate-limiting in DCM but segregated into two non-rate-limiting steps when the solvent is replaced with water. However, further analysis revealed that the use of water as solvent also raises the energy barriers for other chemical steps, particularly the critical step of C–C bond formation between the iminium intermediate and nucleophile; this consequently lowers both the reaction yield and enantioselectivity of this LUMO-lowering reaction, as experimentally detected. These findings provide a logical explanation to why water often enhances organocatalysis when used as an additive but hampers the reaction progress when employed as a solvent.

From sequential chemoenzymatic synthesis to integrated hybrid catalysis: taking the best of both worlds to open up the scope of possibilities for a sustainable future

Here an overview of all pathways that integrate chemical and biological catalysis is presented. We emphasize the factors to be considered in order to understand catalytic synergy.