Highly diastereoselective synthesis of 2-substituted-1,3-diols catalyzed by ketoreductases

Structural insights into the desymmetrization of bulky 1,2-dicarbonyls through enzymatic monoreduction

Benzil reductases are dehydrogenases preferentially active on aromatic 1,2-diketones, but the reasons for this peculiar substrate recognition have not yet been clarified. The benzil reductase (KRED1-Pglu) from the non-conventional yeast Pichia glucozyma showed excellent activity and stereoselectivity in the monoreduction of space-demanding aromatic 1,2-dicarbonyls, making this enzyme attractive as biocatalyst in organic chemistry. Structural insights into the stereoselective monoreduction of 1,2-diketones catalyzed by KRED1-Pglu were investigated starting from its 1.77 Å resolution crystal structure, followed by QM and classical calculations; this study allowed for the identification and characterization of the KRED1-Pglu reactive site. Once identified the recognition elements involved in the stereoselective desymmetrization of bulky 1,2-dicarbonyls mediated by KRED1-Pglu, a mechanism was proposed together with an in silico prediction of substrates reactivity.

An Efficient Chemoenzymatic Approach towards the Synthesis of Rugulactone

Rugulactone is a natural product isolated from the plant Cryptocarya rugulosa. It has shown very important biological activity as an inhibitor of the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activation pathway. A new chemoenzymatic approach towards the synthesis of rugulactone is presented here. The chirality, induced to the key intermediate by a stereoselective enzymatic reduction utilizing NADPH-dependent ketoreductase, is described in detail.

Enzymatic reductions for the regio- and stereoselective synthesis of hydroxy-keto esters and dihydroxy esters

Ketoreductases were utilized for the stereoselective synthesis of δ-hydroxy-β-keto esters, β-hydroxy-δ-keto esters, and β,δ-dihydroxy esters. Seven out of eight possible stereoisomers were obtained from the enzymatic reduction of the corresponding β,δ-diketo ester in high enantio- and diastereomeric excess.