Exploiting the enantioselectivity of Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases via boron oxidation

Stereospecific Enzymatic Conversion of Boronic Acids to Amines

Boronic acids and esters are highly regarded for their safety, unique reactivity, and versatility in synthesizing a wide range of small molecules, bioconjugates, and materials. They are not exploited in biocatalytic synthesis, however, because enzymes that can make, break, or modify carbon-boron bonds are rare. We wish to combine the advantages of boronic acids and esters for molecular assembly with biocatalysis, which offers the potential for unsurpassed selectivity and efficiency. Here, we introduce an engineered protoglobin nitrene transferase that catalyzes the new-to-nature amination of boronic acids using hydroxylamine. Initially targeting aryl boronic acids, we show that the engineered enzyme can produce a wide array of anilines with high yields and total turnover numbers (up to 99% yield and >4000 TTN), with water and boric acid as the only byproducts. We also demonstrate that the enzyme is effective with bench-stable boronic esters, which hydrolyze in situ to their corresponding boronic acids. Exploring the enzyme's capacity for enantioselective catalysis, we found that a racemic alkyl boronic ester affords an enantioenriched alkyl amine, a transformation not achieved with chemocatalysts. The formation of an exclusively unrearranged product during the amination of a boronic ester radical clock and the reaction's stereospecificity support a two-electron process akin to a 1,2-metallate shift mechanism. The developed transformation enables new biocatalytic routes for synthesizing chiral amines.

Enzymatic Kinetic Resolution by Addition of Oxygen

Kinetic resolution using biocatalysis has proven to be an excellent complementary technique to traditional asymmetric catalysis for the production of enantioenriched compounds. Resolution using oxidative enzymes produces valuable oxygenated structures for use in synthetic route development. This Minireview focuses on enzymes which catalyse the insertion of an oxygen atom into the substrate and, in so doing, can achieve oxidative kinetic resolution. The Baeyer-Villiger rearrangement, epoxidation, and hydroxylation are included, and biological advancements in enzyme development, and applications of these key enantioenriched intermediates in natural product synthesis are discussed.

Cobalt Catalyzed Reductive Spirocyclopropanation Reactions

Cobalt pyridine-diimine (PDI) complexes catalyze the reductive spirocyclopropanation of terminal 1,3-dienes. gem-Dichlorocycloalkanes serve as carbene precursors and Zn is used as a terminal electron source. The reaction is effective for a range of gem-dichloro partners including those containing sulfur and nitrogen heterocycles. An example of an intramolecular Rh-catalyzed [5 + 2]-cycloaddition of a vinyl spirocyclopropane is demonstrated, providing rapid access to a complex tricyclic framework. Overall, this catalyst system is capable of suppressing the kinetically facile 1,2-hydride shift, which has hampered the development of Simmons-Smith reactions using Zn carbenoids possessing β-hydrogen atoms.

Biocatalytic Oxidation Reactions: A Chemist's Perspective

Oxidation chemistry using enzymes is approaching maturity and practical applicability in organic synthesis. Oxidoreductases (enzymes catalysing redox reactions) enable chemists to perform highly selective and efficient transformations ranging from simple alcohol oxidations to stereoselective halogenations of non-activated C-H bonds. For many of these reactions, no "classical" chemical counterpart is known. Hence oxidoreductases open up shorter synthesis routes based on a more direct access to the target products. The generally very mild reaction conditions may also reduce the environmental impact of biocatalytic reactions compared to classical counterparts. In this Review, we critically summarise the most important recent developments in the field of biocatalytic oxidation chemistry and identify the most pressing bottlenecks as well as promising solutions.

Enzymatic reactions involving the heteroatoms from organic substrates

Several enzymatic reactions of heteroatom-containing compounds have been explored as unnatural substrates. Considerable advances related to the search for efficient enzymatic systems able to support a broader substrate scope with high catalytic performance are described in the literature. These reports include mainly native and mutated enzymes and whole cells biocatalysis. Herein, we describe the historical background along with the progress of biocatalyzed reactions involving the heteroatom(S, Se, B, P and Si) from hetero-organic substrates.

Automated library synthesis of cyclopropyl boronic esters employing diazomethane in a tube-in-tube flow reactor

The efficient synthesis of cyclopropyl boronic esters in library format using a diazomethane flow reactor has been achieved. A pivotal component of the system is a fully automated tube-in-tube reactor allowing for safe handling of hazardous diazomethane on repeated small scale and for the generation of larger quantities of product. The setup enables the repeated execution of Pd-catalyzed cyclopropanation reactions without compromising its operation over time.

Copper(i)-catalyzed enantioselective hydroboration of cyclopropenes: facile synthesis of optically active cyclopropylboronates

Copper(i)-catalyzed enantioselective hydroboration of 3-aryl substituted cyclopropene-3-carboxylate is described, providing chiral cyclopropylboronates with excellent enantioselectivities (89–95% ee) in moderate to high yields (55–86%).