Synthesis of chiral pharmaceutical intermediates by biocatalysis

Microbial alcohol dehydrogenases: recent developments and applications in asymmetric synthesis

Alcohol dehydrogenases are a well-known group of enzymes in the class of oxidoreductases that use electron transfer cofactors such as NAD(P)+/NAD(P)H for oxidation or reduction reactions of alcohols or carbonyl compounds respectively. These enzymes are utilized mainly as purified enzymes and offer some advantages in terms of green chemistry. They are environmentally friendly and a sustainable alternative to traditional chemical synthesis of bulk and fine chemicals. Industry has implemented several whole-cell biocatalytic processes to synthesize pharmaceutically active ingredients by exploring the high selectivity of enzymes. Unlike the whole cell system where cofactor regeneration is well conserved within the cellular environment, purified enzymes require additional cofactors or a cofactor recycling system in the reaction, even though cleaner reactions can be carried out with fewer downstream work-up problems. The challenge of producing purified enzymes in large quantities has been solved in large part by the use of recombinant enzymes. Most importantly, recombinant enzymes find applications in many cascade biotransformations to produce several important chiral precursors. Inevitably, several dehydrogenases were engineered as mere recombinant enzymes could not meet the industrial requirements for substrate and stereoselectivity. In recent years, a significant number of engineered alcohol dehydrogenases have been employed in asymmetric synthesis in industry. In a parallel development, several enzymatic and non-enzymatic methods have been established for regenerating expensive cofactors (NAD+/NADP+) to make the overall enzymatic process more efficient and economically viable. In this review article, recent developments and applications of microbial alcohol dehydrogenases are summarized by emphasizing notable examples.

Enlightening the Path to Protein Engineering: Chemoselective Turn-On Probes for High-Throughput Screening of Enzymatic Activity

Many successful stories in enzyme engineering are based on the creation of randomized diversity in large mutant libraries, containing millions to billions of enzyme variants. Methods that enabled their evaluation with high throughput are dominated by spectroscopic techniques due to their high speed and sensitivity. A large proportion of studies relies on fluorogenic substrates that mimic the chemical properties of the target or coupled enzymatic assays with an optical read-out that assesses the desired catalytic efficiency indirectly. The most reliable hits, however, are achieved by screening for conversions of the starting material to the desired product. For this purpose, functional group assays offer a general approach to achieve a fast, optical read-out. They use the chemoselectivity, differences in electronic and steric properties of various functional groups, to reduce the number of false-positive results and the analytical noise stemming from enzymatic background activities. This review summarizes the developments and use of functional group probes for chemoselective derivatizations, with a clear focus on screening for enzymatic activity in protein engineering.

Separation of Low-Molecular-Weight Organics by Water-Soluble Macrocyclic Arenes

In this study, we fabricate a series of water-soluble anionic macrocyclic arenes, including pillar[5]arene (WP5), pillar[6]arene (WP6), leaning pillar[6]arene (WLT6), and biphenyl-extended pillar[6]arene (WBpP6), which show different separation capabilities toward low-molecular-weight organics, such as short chain haloalkanes, cyclic aliphatics, and aromatics, in water. The liquid-liquid distribution experiments are carried out at room temperature. The separation factor for low-molecular-weight organics is evaluated in the extraction of equimolar mixtures. WP6 demonstrates a high extraction efficiency of up to 89% in separating toluene/methylcyclohexane mixtures. These adsorbents also have the advantages of rapid adsorption, high separation efficiency, remarkable selectivity, and good recyclability. This work not only expands the application scope of macrocyclic chemistry, but also has practical research value for organics separation and water purification.

Oxygenating Biocatalysts for Hydroxyl Functionalisation in Drug Discovery and Development

C-H oxyfunctionalisation remains a distinct challenge for synthetic organic chemists. Oxygenases and peroxygenases (grouped here as "oxygenating biocatalysts") catalyse the oxidation of a substrate with molecular oxygen or hydrogen peroxide as oxidant. The application of oxygenating biocatalysts in organic synthesis has dramatically increased over the last decade, producing complex compounds with potential uses in the pharmaceutical industry. This review will focus on hydroxyl functionalisation using oxygenating biocatalysts as a tool for drug discovery and development. Established oxygenating biocatalysts, such as cytochrome P450s and flavin-dependent monooxygenases, have widely been adopted for this purpose, but can suffer from low activity, instability or limited substrate scope. Therefore, emerging oxygenating biocatalysts which offer an alternative will also be covered, as well as considering the ways in which these hydroxylation biotransformations can be applied in drug discovery and development, such as late-stage functionalisation (LSF) and in biocatalytic cascades.

Deracemization of 1-phenylethanols in a one-pot process combining Mn-driven oxidation with enzymatic reduction utilizing a compartmentalization technique

Racemic 1-phenylethanols were converted into enantiopure (R)-1-phenylethanols via a chemoenzymatic process in which manganese oxide driven oxidation was coupled with enzymatic biotransformation by compartmentalization of the reactions, although the two reactions conducted under mixed conditions are not compatible due to enzyme deactivation by Mn ions. Achiral 1-phenylethanol is oxidized to produce acetophenone in the interior chamber of a polydimethylsiloxane thimble. The acetophenone passes through the membrane into the exterior chamber where enantioselective biotransformation takes place to produce (R)-1-phenylethanol with an enantioselectivity of >99% ee and with 96% yield. The developed sequential reaction could be applied to the deracemization of a wide range of methyl- and chloro-substituted 1-phenylethanols (up to 93%, >99% ee). In addition, this method was applied to the selective hydroxylation of ethylbenzene to afford chiral 1-phenylethanol.

PDMS thimble was the key to combining incompatible reactions to achieve deracemization of 1-phenylethanols in high yield with high optical yield.

Shortening Synthetic Routes to Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Employing Biocatalytic Methods

Biocatalysis, using enzymes for organic synthesis, has emerged as powerful tool for the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The first industrial biocatalytic processes launched in the first half of the last century exploited whole-cell microorganisms where the specific enzyme at work was not known. In the meantime, novel molecular biology methods, such as efficient gene sequencing and synthesis, triggered breakthroughs in directed evolution for the rapid development of process-stable enzymes with broad substrate scope and good selectivities tailored for specific substrates. To date, enzymes are employed to enable shorter, more efficient, and more sustainable alternative routes toward (established) small molecule APIs, and are additionally used to perform standard reactions in API synthesis more efficiently. Herein, large-scale synthetic routes containing biocatalytic key steps toward >130 APIs of approved drugs and drug candidates are compared with the corresponding chemical protocols (if available) regarding the steps, reaction conditions, and scale. The review is structured according to the functional group formed in the reaction.

Engineering Leifsonia Alcohol Dehydrogenase for Thermostability and Catalytic Efficiency by Enhancing Subunit Interactions

Leifsonia alcohol dehydrogenase (LnADH) is a promising biocatalyst for the synthesis of chiral alcohols. However, limitations of wild-type LnADH observed for practical application include low activity and poor stability. In this work, protein engineering was employed to improve its thermostability and catalytic efficiency by altering the subunit interfaces. Residues T100 and S148 were identified to be significant for thermostability and activity, and the melting temperature (ΔT_m ) and catalytic efficiency of the mutant T100R/S148I toward ketone substrates was improved by 18.7 °C and 1.8-5.5-fold. Solving the crystal structures of the wild-type enzyme and T100R/S148L revealed beneficial effects of mutations on stability and catalytic activity. The most robust mutant T100R/S148I is promising for industrial applications and can produce 200 g liter^-1  day^-1 chiral alcohols at 50 °C by only a 1 : 500 ratio of enzyme to substrate.

Lipase-Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution of Dimethyl and Dibutyl 1-Butyryloxy-1-carboxymethylphosphonates

The main objective of this study is the enantioselective synthesis of carboxyhydroxyphosphonates by lipase-catalyzed reactions. For this purpose, racemic dimethyl and dibutyl 1-butyryloxy-1-carboxymethylphosphonates were synthesized and hydrolyzed, using a wide spectrum of commercially available lipases from different sources (e.g., fungi and bacteria). The best hydrolysis results of dimethyl 1-butyryloxy-1-carboxymethylphosphonate were obtained with the use of lipases from Candida rugosa, Candida antarctica, and Aspergillus niger, leading to optically active dimethyl 1-carboxy-1-hydroxymethylphosphonate (58%–98% enantiomeric excess) with high enantiomeric ratio (reaching up to 126). However, in the case of hydrolysis of dibutyl 1-butyryloxy-1-carboxymethylphosphonate, the best results were obtained by lipases from Burkholderia cepacia and Termomyces lanuginosus, leading to optically active dibutyl 1-carboxy-1-hydroxymethylphosphonate (66%–68% enantiomeric excess) with moderate enantiomeric ratio (reaching up to 8.6). The absolute configuration of the products after biotransformation was also determined. In most cases, lipases hydrolyzed (R) enantiomers of both compounds.

Regioselective asymmetric bioreduction of trans-4-phenylbut-3-en-2-one by whole-cell of Weissella cibaria N9 biocatalyst

There is a considerable interest in the asymmetric production of chiral allylic alcohols, the main building blocks of many functional molecules. The asymmetric reduction of α,β-unsaturated ketones is difficult with traditional chemical protocols in a regioselective and stereoselective manner. In this study, the reductive capacity of whole cell of Leuconostoc mesenteroides N6, Weissella paramesenteroides N7, Weissella cibaria N9, and Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides N13 was investigated as whole-cell biocatalysts in the enantioselective reduction of (E)-4-phenylbut-3-en-2-one (1). The biocatalytic reduction of 1 to (S,E)-4-phenylbut-3-en-2-ol ((S,E)-2) using the whole cell of W. cibaria N9 isolated from Turkish sourdough was developed in a regioselective fashion, occurring with excellent conversion and recovering the product in good yield. In biocatalytic reduction reactions, the conversion of the substrate and the enantiomeric excess (ee) of the product are significantly affected by optimization parameters such as temperature, agitation rate, pH, and incubation time. Effects of these parameters on ee and conversion were investigated comprehensively. In addition, to our knowledge, this is the first report on production of (S,E)-2 using whole-cell biocatalyst in excellent yield, conversion with enantiopure form and at gram scale. These findings pave the way for the use of whole cell of W. cibaria N9 for challenging higher substrate concentrations of different α,β-unsaturated ketones for regioselective reduction at industrial scale.

Potential of Biocatalysis in Pharmaceuticals

Biocatalysis has been continuously evolving as an essential tool which is playing a significant role in the industrial synthesis of chemicals, active pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical intermediates, etc. where the high-yielding chemo-, regio-, and enantioselective reactions are needed. Despite its vital importance, industrial biocatalysis is facing certain limitations such as operational stability, economic viability, efficient recovery, and reusability. The limitations mentioned can be overcome by the isolation of specific enzyme producers from extreme environment by protein engineering, bioinformatics, and recombinant DNA technologies. Recently, chemoenzymatic pathway and biological cascade reactions have also been developed and designed to perform the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. In this chapter, we compile the broad applications of biocatalysts in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals.

Marine Bacterial Esterases: Emerging Biocatalysts for Industrial Applications

The marine ecosystem has been known to be a significant source of novel enzymes. Esterase enzymes (EC 3.1.1.1) represent a diverse group of hydrolases that catalyze the cleavage and formation of ester bonds. Although esterases are widely distributed among marine organisms, only microbial esterases are of paramount industrial importance. This article discusses the importance of marine microbial esterases, their biochemical and kinetic properties, and their stability under extreme conditions. Since culture-dependent techniques provide limited insights into microbial diversity of the marine ecosystem, therefore, genomics and metagenomics approaches have widely been adopted in search of novel esterases. Additionally, the article also explains industrial applications of marine bacterial esterases particularly for the synthesis of optically pure substances, the preparation of enantiomerically pure drugs, the degradation of human-made plastics and organophosphorus compounds, degradation of the lipophilic components of the ink, and production of short-chain flavor esters.

Immobilization of alcohol dehydrogenase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae onto carboxymethyl dextran-coated magnetic nanoparticles: a novel route for biocatalyst improvement via epoxy activation

A novel method is described for the immobilization of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae onto carboxymethyl dextran (CMD) coated magnetic nanoparticles (CMD-MNPs) activated with epoxy groups, using epichlorohydrin (EClH). EClH was used as an activating agent to bind ADH molecules on the surface of CMD-MNPs. Optimal immobilization conditions (activating agent concentration, temperature, rotation speed, medium pH, immobilization time and enzyme concentration) were set to obtain the highest expressed activity of the immobilized enzyme. ADH that was immobilized onto epoxy-activated CMD-MNPs (ADH-CMD-MNPs) maintained 90% of the expressed activity. Thermal stability of ADH-CMD-MNPS after 24 h at 20 °C and 40 °C yielded 79% and 80% of initial activity, respectively, while soluble enzyme activity was only 19% at 20 °C and the enzyme was non-active at 40 °C. Expressed activity of ADH-CMD-MNPs after 21 days of storage at 4 °C was 75%. Kinetic parameters (K_M, v_max) of soluble and immobilized ADH were determined, resulting in 125 mM and 1.2 µmol/min for soluble ADH, and in 73 mM and 4.7 µmol/min for immobilized ADH.

Kinetic Modeling of a Consecutive Enzyme-Catalyzed Enantioselective Reaction in Supercritical Media

Based on experimental data of both batch and continuous enzyme-catalyzed kinetic resolutions of (±)-trans-1,2-cyclohexanediol in supercritical carbon dioxide, kinetic models of increasing complexity were developed to explore the strengths and drawbacks of various modeling approaches. The simplest, first-order model proved to be a good fit for the batch experimental data in regions of high reagent concentrations but failed elsewhere. A more complex system that closely follows the true mechanism was able to fit the full range of experimental data, find constant reaction rate coefficients, and was successfully used to predict the results of the same reaction run continuously in a packed bed reactor. Care must be taken when working with such models, however, to avoid problems of overfitting; a more complex model is not always more accurate. This work may serve as an example for more rigorous reaction modeling and reactor design in the future.

Carbon as a Simple Support for Redox Biocatalysis in Continuous Flow

A continuous packed bed reactor for NADH-dependent biocatalysis using enzymes co-immobilized on a simple carbon support was optimized to 100% conversion in a residence time of 30 min. Conversion of pyruvate to lactate was achieved by co-immobilized lactate dehydrogenase and formate dehydrogenase, providing in situ cofactor recycling. Other metrics were also considered as optimization targets, such as low E factors between 2.5-11 and space-time yields of up to 22.9 g L^-1 h^-1. The long-term stability of the biocatalytic reactor was also demonstrated, with full conversion maintained over more than 30 h of continuous operation.

Force-Activated Isomerization of a Single Molecule

Understanding and controlling isomerization at the single molecular level should provide new insight into the molecular dynamics and design guidelines of functional devices. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool to study isomerization of single molecules on a substrate, by either electric field or inelastic electron tunneling mechanisms. A similar molecular isomerization process can in principle be induced by mechanical force; however, relevant study has remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that isomerization of a N,N-dimethylamino-dianthryl-benzene molecule on Ag(100) can be mechanically driven by the STM tip. The existence of an out-of-plane dimethylamino group in the molecule is found to play a pivotal role in the isomerization process by providing a steric hindrance effect for asymmetric interaction between the STM tip and the molecule. This underlying mechanism is further confirmed by performing molecular dynamics simulations, which show agreement with experimental results. Our work opens the opportunity to manipulate the molecular configuration on the basis of mechanical force.

Genipin as An Emergent Tool in the Design of Biocatalysts: Mechanism of Reaction and Applications

Genipin is a reagent isolated from the Gardenia jasminoides fruit extract, and whose low toxicity and good crosslinking properties have converted it into a reactive whose popularity is increasing by the day. These properties have made it widely used in many medical applications, mainly in the production of chitosan materials (crosslinked by this reactive), biological scaffolds for tissue engineering, and nanoparticles of chitosan and nanogels of proteins for controlled drug delivery, the genipin crosslinking being a key point to strengthen the stability of these materials. This review is focused on the mechanism of reaction of this reagent and its use in the design of biocatalysts, where genipin plays a double role, as a support activating agent and as inter- or intramolecular crosslinker. Its low toxicity makes this compound an ideal alterative to glutaraldehyde in these processes. Moreover, in some cases the features of the biocatalysts prepared using genipin surpassed those of the biocatalysts prepared using other standard crosslinkers, even disregarding toxicity. In this way, genipin is a very promising reagent in the design of biocatalysts.

Efficient Biosynthesis of High-Value Succinic Acid and 5-Hydroxyleucine Using a Multienzyme Cascade and Whole-Cell Catalysis

Succinic acid (SA) is applied in the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. 5-Hydroxyleucine (5-HLeu) is a promising precursor for the biosynthesis of antituberculosis drugs. Here, we designed a promising synthetic route for the simultaneous production of SA and 5-HLeu by combining l-leucine dioxygenase (NpLDO), l-glutamate oxidase (LGOX), and catalase (CAT). Two bioconversion systems: "a multienzyme cascade catalysis in vitro" (MECCS) and "whole-cell catalysis system" (WCCS) were constructed. A high-activity NpLDO mutant was screened by error-prone polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and showed 6.1-fold improvement of catalytic activity. After optimization of reaction conditions, MECSS yielded 3.15 g/L SA and 3.92 g/L 5-HLeu, while the production of SA and 5-HLeu by the most effective WCSS reached 15.12 and 18.83 g/L, respectively. This is the first attempt to use ferrous iron/α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases for the simultaneous production of SA and hydroxy-amino-acid. This research provides a tool for industrial production of food of high-value products from low-cost raw materials.

Developing a Novel Enzyme Immobilization Process by Activation of Epoxy Carriers with Glucosamine for Pharmaceutical and Food Applications

In this paper, we describe the development of an efficient enzyme immobilization procedure based on the activation of epoxy carriers with glucosamine. This approach aims at both creating a hydrophilic microenvironment surrounding the biocatalyst and introducing a spacer bearing an aldehyde group for covalent attachment. First, the immobilization study was carried out using penicillin G acylase (PGA) from Escherichia coli as a model enzyme. PGA immobilized on glucosamine activated supports has been compared with enzyme derivatives obtained by direct immobilization on the same non-modified carriers, in the synthesis of different 3′-functionalized cephalosporins. The derivatives prepared by immobilization of PGA on the glucosamine-carriers performed better than those prepared using the unmodified carriers (i.e., 90% versus 79% cefazolin conversion). The same immobilization method has been then applied to the immobilization of two other hydrolases (neutral protease from Bacillus subtilis, PN, and bromelain from pineapple stem, BR) and one transferase (γ-glutamyl transpeptidase from Bacillus subtilis, GGT). Immobilized PN and BR have been exploited in the synthesis of modified nucleosides and in a bench-scale packed-bed reactor for the protein stabilization of a Sauvignon blanc wine, respectively. In addition, in these cases, the new enzyme derivatives provided improved results compared to those previously described.

Redox self-sufficient biocatalyst system for conversion of 3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine into (R)- or (S)-3,4-Dihydroxyphenyllactic acid

We developed an efficient multi-enzyme cascade reaction to produce (R)- or (S)-3,4-Dihydroxyphenyllactic acid [(R)- or (S)-Danshensu, (R)- or (S)-DSS] from 3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (L-DOPA) in Escherichia coli by introducing tyrosine aminotransferase (tyrB), glutamate dehydrogenase (cdgdh) and D-aromatic lactate dehydrogenase (csldhD) or L-aromatic lactate dehydrogenase (tcldhL). First, the genes in the pathway were overexpressed and fine-tuned for (R)- or (S)-DSS production. The resulting strain, E. coli TGL 2.1 and E. coli TGL 2.2, which overexpressed tyrB with the stronger T7 promoter and cdgdh, csldhD or tcldhL with the weaker Trc promoter, E. coli TGL 2.1 yielded 57% increase in (R)-DSS production: 59.8 ± 2.9 mM. Meanwhile, E. coli TGL 2.2 yielded 54% increase in (S)-DSS production: 52.2 ± 2.4 mM. The optimal concentration of L-glutamate was found to be 20 mM for production of (R)- or (S)-DSS. Finally, L-DOPA were transformed into (R)- or (S)-DSS with an excellent enantiopure form (enantiomeric excess > 99.99%) and productivity of 6.61 mM/h and 4.48 mM/h, respectively.

Novozym 435: the “perfect” lipase immobilized biocatalyst?

Novozym 435 (N435) is a commercially available immobilized lipase produced by Novozymes with its advantages and drawbacks.

Switching the substrate preference of fungal aryl-alcohol oxidase: towards stereoselective oxidation of secondary benzyl alcohols

Using PELE computational simulations the ability to deracemize secondary benzylic alcohols was introduced (by I500M/F501W double mutation) in stereoselective AAO.

Redesign and engineering of a dioxygenase targeting biocatalytic synthesis of 5-hydroxyl leucine

The protein engineering and metabolic engineering strategies are performed to solve rate-limiting steps in the biosynthesis of 5-HLeu.

Magnetic Combined Cross-Linked Enzyme Aggregates of Ketoreductase and Alcohol Dehydrogenase: An Efficient and Stable Biocatalyst for Asymmetric Synthesis of (R)-3-Quinuclidinol with Regeneration of Coenzymes In Situ

Enzymes are biocatalysts. In this study, a novel biocatalyst consisting of magnetic combined cross-linked enzyme aggregates (combi-CLEAs) of 3-quinuclidinone reductase (QNR) and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) for enantioselective synthesis of (R)-3-quinuclidinolwith regeneration of cofactors in situ was developed. The magnetic combi-CLEAs were fabricated with the use of ammonium sulfate as a precipitant and glutaraldehyde as a cross-linker for direct immobilization of QNR and GDH from E. coli BL(21) cell lysates onto amino-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The physicochemical properties of the magnetic combi-CLEAs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetic measurements. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) images revealed a spherical structure with numerous pores which facilitate the movement of the substrates and coenzymes. Moreover, the magnetic combi-CLEAs exhibited improved operational and thermal stability, enhanced catalytic performance for transformation of 3-quinuclidinone (33 g/L) into (R)-3-quinuclidinol in 100% conversion yield and 100% enantiomeric excess (ee) after 3 h of reaction. The activity of the biocatalysts was preserved about 80% after 70 days storage and retained more than 40% of its initial activity after ten cycles. These results demonstrated that the magnetic combi-CLEAs, as cost-effective and environmentally friendly biocatalysts, were suitable for application in synthesis of (R)-3-quinuclidinol essential for the production of solifenacin and aclidinium with better performance than those currently available.

Microbial biotransformation of bioactive and clinically useful steroids and some salient features of steroids and biotransformation

Steroids are perhaps one of the most widely used group of drugs in present day. Beside the established utilization as immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, progestational, diuretic, sedative, anabolic and contraceptive agents, recent applications of steroid compounds include the treatment of some forms of cancer, osteoporosis, HIV infections and treatment of declared AIDS. Steroids isolated are often available in minute amounts. So biotransformation of natural products provides a powerful means in solving supply problems in clinical trials and marketing of the drug for obtaining natural products in bulk amounts. If the structure is complex, it is often an impossible task to isolate enough of the natural products for clinical trials. The microbial biotransformation of steroids yielded several novel metabolites, exhibiting different activities. The metabolites produced from pregnenolone acetate by Cunning hamella elegans and Rhizopus stolonifer were screened against tyrosinase and cholinesterase showed significant inhibitory activities than the parent compound. Diosgenin and its transformed sarsasapogenin were screened for their acetyl cholinesterase and butyryl cholinesterase inhibitory activities. Sarsasapogenin was screened for phytotoxicity, and was found to be more active than the parent compound. Diosgenin, prednisone and their derivatives were screened for their anti-leishmanial activity. All derivatives were found to be more active than the parent compound. The biotransformation of steroids have been reviewed to a little extent. This review focuses on the biotransformation and functions of selected steroids, the classification, advantages and agents of enzymatic biotransformation and examines the potential role of new enzymatically transformed steroids and their derivatives in the chemoprevention and treatment of other diseases. tyrosinase and cholinesterase inhibitory activities, severe asthma, rheumatic disorders, renal disorders and diseases of inflammatory bowel, skin, gastrointestinal tract.

Enantioselective Bioreduction of Prochiral Pyrimidine Base Derivatives by Boni Protect Fungicide Containing Live Cells of Aureobasidium pullulans

The enzymatic enantioselective bioreduction of prochiral 1-substituted-5-methyl-3-(2-oxo-2-phenylethyl)pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-diones to corresponding chiral alcohols by Boni Protect fungicide containing live cells of Aureobasidium pullulans was studied. The microbe-catalyzed reduction of bulky-bulky ketones provides enantiomerically pure products (96–99% ee). In the presence of A. pullulans (Aureobasidium pullulans), one of the enantiotopic hydrides of the dihydropyridine ring coenzyme is selectively transferred to the si sides of the prochiral carbonyl group to give secondary alcohols with R configuration. The reactions were performed under various conditions in order to optimize the procedure with respect to time, solvent, and temperature. The present methodology demonstrates an alternative green way for the synthesis of chiral alcohols in a simple, economical, and eco-friendly biotransformation.

Functional Enzyme Mimics for Oxidative Halogenation Reactions that Combat Biofilm Formation

Transition-metal oxide nanoparticles and molecular coordination compounds are highlighted as functional mimics of halogenating enzymes. These enzymes are involved in halometabolite biosynthesis. Their activity is based upon the formation of hypohalous acids from halides and hydrogen peroxide or oxygen, which form bioactive secondary metabolites of microbial origin with strong antibacterial and antifungal activities in follow-up reactions. Therefore, enzyme mimics and halogenating enzymes may be valuable tools to combat biofilm formation. Here, halogenating enzyme models are briefly described, enzyme mimics are classified according to their catalytic functions, and current knowledge about the settlement chemistry and adhesion of fouling organisms is summarized. Enzyme mimics with the highest potential are showcased. They may find application in antifouling coatings, indoor and outdoor paints, polymer membranes for water desalination, or in aquacultures, but also on surfaces for food packaging, door handles, hand rails, push buttons, keyboards, and other elements made of plastic where biofilms are present. The use of natural compounds, formed in situ with nontoxic and abundant metal oxide enzyme mimics, represents a novel and efficient "green" strategy to emulate and utilize a natural defense system for preventing bacterial colonization and biofilm growth.

Endophytic biocatalysts with enoate reductase activity isolated from Mentha pulegium

The biotransformation of (4R)-(-)-carvone by Mentha pulegium (pennyroyal) leaves and its endophytic bacteria was performed in order to search for novel biocatalysts with enoate reductase activity. The obtained results clearly indicated that endophytes play an important role in the biotransformation of (4R)-(-)-carvone with pennyroyal plant tissues. The best activity was associated to the endophytic bacteria Pseudomonas proteolytica FM18Mci1 and Bacillus sp. FM18civ1. Enoate reductase activity for the reduction of (4R)-(-)-carvone and (4S)-(+)-carvone as model substrates was evaluated for each strain. Finally, both isolated strains were evaluated for the kinetic resolution of racemic carvone. The two bacteria gave (1R, 4R) or (1R, 4S)-dihydrocarvone as major products. P. proteolytica FM18Mci1 had preference for the 4S-(-)-carvone, reaching a conversion 95% in 24 h. In contrast, Bacillus sp. FM18civ1 had preference for (4R)-(-)-carvone. The results obtained in the kinetic resolution of carvone indicated that the Bacillus strain could be useful for resolving a racemic mixture of carvone.

Different strategies for multi-enzyme cascade reaction for chiral vic-1,2-diol production

The stereoselective three-enzyme cascade for the one-pot synthesis of (1S,2S)-1-phenylpropane-1,2-diol ((1S,2S)-1-PPD) from inexpensive starting substrates, benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde, was explored. By coupling stereoselective carboligation catalyzed by benzoylformate decarboxylase (BFD), L-selective reduction of a carbonyl group with alcohol dehydrogenase from Lactobacillus brevis (ADHLb) as well as the coenzyme regeneration by formate dehydrogenase (FDH), enantiomerically pure diastereoselective 1,2-diol was produced. Two different multi-enzyme system approaches were applied: the sequential two-step one-pot and the simultaneous one-pot cascade. All enzymes were kinetically characterized. The impact of acetaldehyde on the BFD and ADHLb stability was investigated. To overcome the kinetic limitation of acetaldehyde in the carboligation reaction and to reduce its influence on the enzyme stability, experiments were performed in two different excesses of acetaldehyde (100 and 300%). Due to the ADHLb deactivation by acetaldehyde, the simultaneous one-pot cascade proved not to be the first choice for the investigated three-enzyme system. In the sequential cascade with 300% acetaldehyde excess a 100% yield of vic 1,2-diol was reached.

Improved Enantioselectivity of Subtilisin Carlsberg towards Secondary Alcohols by Protein Engineering

Generally, the catalytic activity of subtilisin Carlsberg (SC) for transacylation reactions with secondary alcohols in organic solvent is low. Enzyme immobilization and protein engineering was performed to improve the enantioselectivity of SC towards secondary alcohols. Possible amino-acid residues for mutagenesis were found by combining available literature data with molecular modeling. SC variants were created by site-directed mutagenesis and were evaluated for a model transacylation reaction containing 1-phenylethanol in THF. Variants showing high E values (>100) were found. However, the conversions were still low. A second mutation was made, and both the E values and conversions were increased. Relative to that shown by the wild type, the most successful variant, G165L/M221F, showed increased conversion (up to 36 %), enantioselectivity (E values up to 400), substrate scope, and stability in THF.

Magnetic combined cross-linked enzyme aggregates (Combi-CLEAs) for cofactor regeneration in the synthesis of chiral alcohol

Magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were prepared and embedded into the Combi-CLEAs to produce the magnetic Combi-CLEAs in this work. The process for magnetic Combi-CLEAs preparation was optimized, and its properties were investigated. The optimum temperature, thermal stability and optimum pH of magnetic Combi-CLEAs were similar to those of Combi-CLEAs. The catalytic performance of magnetic Combi-CLEAs was tested with the biosynthesis of (S)-ethyl 4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyrate ((S)-CHBE). Magnetic Combi-CLEAs could tolerate higher substrate concentration in the biphasic system. The catalytic efficiency and long-term operational stability of magnetic Combi-CLEAs were obviously superior to those of Combi-CLEAs in both aqueous and biphasic systems. Embedding of magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles endowing rigidity contributed to these improvements. Furthermore, the preparation of magnetic Combi-CLEAs was easy, and its recovery during multiple batches of reactions could be fulfilled by magnetic field. Aforementioned advantages make the magnetic Combi-CLEAs hold obvious potential for industrial application.

Characterization of two styrene monooxygenases from marine microbes

Styrene monooxygenases (SMOs) are highly stereoselective enzymes that catalyze the formation of chiral epoxides as versatile building blocks. To expand the enzyme toolbox, two bacterial SMOs were identified from the genome of marine microbes Paraglaciecola agarilytica NO2 and Marinobacterium litorale DSM 23545, and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli in soluble form. Both of the resulting whole-cell biocatalysts exhibited maximal activity at 30 °C and pH 8.0. They catalyzed the sulfoxidation reactions, and the epoxidation of both conjugated and unconjugated styrene derivatives with up to >99%ee. MlSMO displayed higher activity toward most substrates tested. Compared to an established SMO from Pseudomonas species (PsSMO), MlSMO achieved 3.0-, 3.4- and 2.6-fold conversions for substrates styrene, cinnamyl alcohol and 4-vinyl-2, 3-dihydrobenzofuran, respectively.