The enzymatic cleavage of Si–O bonds: A kinetic analysis of the biocatalyzed hydrolysis of phenyltrimethoxysilane

Development of Improved Spectrophotometric Assays for Biocatalytic Silyl Ether Hydrolysis

Reported herein is the development of assays for the spectrophotometric quantification of biocatalytic silicon-oxygen bond hydrolysis. Central to these assays are a series of chromogenic substrates that release highly absorbing phenoxy anions upon cleavage of the sessile bond. These substrates were tested with silicatein, an enzyme from a marine sponge that is known to catalyse the hydrolysis and condensation of silyl ethers. It was found that, of the substrates tested, tert-butyldimethyl(2-methyl-4-nitrophenoxy)silane provided the best assay performance, as evidenced by the highest ratio of enzyme catalysed reaction rate compared with the background (uncatalysed) reaction. These substrates were also found to be suitable for detailed enzyme kinetics measurements, as demonstrated by their use to determine the Michaelis-Menten kinetic parameters for silicatein.

Biocatalytic Transformations of Silicon-the Other Group 14 Element

Significant inroads have been made using biocatalysts to perform new-to-nature reactions with high selectivity and efficiency. Meanwhile, advances in organosilicon chemistry have led to rich sets of reactions holding great synthetic value. Merging biocatalysis and silicon chemistry could yield new methods for the preparation of valuable organosilicon molecules as well as the degradation and valorization of undesired ones. Despite silicon's importance in the biosphere for its role in plant and diatom construction, it is not known to be incorporated into any primary or secondary metabolites. Enzymes have been found that act on silicon-containing molecules, but only a few are known to act directly on silicon centers. Protein engineering and evolution has and could continue to enable enzymes to catalyze useful organosilicon transformations, complementing and expanding upon current synthetic methods. The role of silicon in biology and the enzymes that act on silicon-containing molecules are reviewed to set the stage for a discussion of where biocatalysis and organosilicon chemistry may intersect.

Biocatalysis in Silicon Chemistry

The application of biocatalytic or chemoenzymatic techniques in silicon chemistry serves two roles: it provides a greater understanding of the processing of silicon species by natural systems, such as plants, diatoms, and sponges, as well opening up avenues to green methodologies in the field. In the latter case, biocatalytic approaches have been applied to the synthesis of small-molecule systems and polymeric materials. Often these biocatalytic approaches allow access to molecular structures under mild conditions and, in some cases, molecular structures that are not accessible through traditional chemical methodologies. A review of recent advances in the applications of biocatalysis in silicon chemistry is presented.

Recent Advances in Biocatalytic Promiscuity: Hydrolase-Catalyzed Reactions for Nonconventional Transformations

Enzymes have emerged in recent decades as ideal catalysts for synthetic transformations under mild reaction conditions. Their capacity to accelerate a myriad of biotransformations with high levels of selectivity and broad substrate specificity including excellent atom economy has led to a current full recognition. The six classes of enzymes (oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases and ligases) possess outstanding abilities to perform specific modifications in target molecules. Nevertheless, in the last fifteen years, novel examples have appeared related to nonconventional processes catalyzed by various classes of biocatalysts. Amongst these, hydrolases have received special attention since they display remarkable activities in initially unexpected reactions such as carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-formation reactions, oxidative processes and novel hydrolytic transformations. In this review, the main findings in this area will be disclosed, highlighting the catalytic properties of hydrolases not only to catalyze single processes but also multicomponent and tandem nonconventional reactions.