巨大芽胞杆菌环氧水解酶的固定化及其催化性能

考察了多种载体对巨大芽孢杆菌ECU1001环氧水解酶的固定化.以大孔DEAE-纤维素离子交换树脂为载体时,固定化酶的活力回收达70%.进一步考察了温度和pH对固定化酶活力的影响,并使用该固定化酶进行了缩水甘油苯基醚对映选择性水解批次反应.结果表明,在较低的底物浓度下该固定化酶的稳定性较好,10批反应后仍然剩余72.4%的活力.     

Microbiological transformations. Part 39: Determination of the regioselectivity occurring during oxirane ring opening by epoxide hydrolases: a theoretical analysis and a new method for its determination

In the course of this work we have devised new equations as well as a new method allowing for the total determination of the regioselectivity occurring during biohydrolysis of a racemic epoxide by an epoxide hydrolase. This determination is achievable by simply studying the racemic epoxide as a substrate. The results showed that, depending on the enantioselectivity (E value) and the regioselectivity involved, the absolute configuration as well as the enantiopurity of the residual epoxide and of the formed diol appear to be highly variable. For a specific enzyme/substrate couple, the yield and enantiopurity of the less reactive (remaining) epoxide—and thus the possibility to prepare it in enantiopure form—exclusively depend upon the enzyme enantioselectivity. On the other hand, the ee of the formed diol (eep) depends upon the enantioselectivity and on the regioselectivity of the oxirane ring opening. A theoretical analysis based on the material balance, as well as several practical examples, are provided to illustrate the various possibilities of such biohydrolyses.     

A Smart Library of Epoxide Hydrolase Variants and the Top Hits for Synthesis of (S)‐β‐Blocker Precursors

Microtuning of the enzyme active pocket has led to a smart library of epoxide hydrolase variants with an expanded substrate spectrum covering a series of typical β‐blocker precursors. Improved activities of 6‐ to 430‐fold were achieved by redesigning the active site at two predicted hot spots. This study represents a breakthrough in protein engineering of epoxide hydrolases and resulted in enhanced activity toward bulky substrates.     

High-performance thin-layer chromatography assay for epoxide hydrolase activity and the determination of phenoxypropane-1,2-diols

A simple, rapid and sensitive high-performance thin-layer chromatographic assay for the determination of epoxide hydrolase activity in rat liver homogenates is described. It is extended to the determination of a series of phenoxypropane-1,2-diols. The hydrolase assay has the advantages of using a readily available substrate, 2,3-epoxypropyl 4-methoxyphenyl ether, of multiple sample application, and of the simultaneous determination of reaction product (diol) as well as unchanged substrate (epoxide). The use of an internal standard, 4-nitroanisole, results in high sensitivity and good reproducibility of the proposed method. The limit of diol detection is 20 pmol.     

Catalytic double carbonylation of epoxides to succinic anhydrides: catalyst discovery, reaction scope, and mechanism

The first catalytic method for the efficient conversion of epoxides to succinic anhydrides via one-pot double carbonylation is reported. This reaction occurs in two stages: first, the epoxide is carbonylated to a beta-lactone, and then the beta-lactone is subsequently carbonylated to a succinic anhydride. This reaction is made possible by the bimetallic catalyst [(ClTPP)Al(THF)2]+[Co(CO)4]- (1; ClTPP = meso-tetra(4-chlorophenyl)porphyrinato; THF = tetrahydrofuran), which is highly active and selective for both epoxide and lactone carbonylation, and by the identification of a solvent that facilitates both stages. The catalysis is compatible with substituted epoxides having aliphatic, aromatic, alkene, ether, ester, alcohol, nitrile, and amide functional groups. Disubstituted and enantiomerically pure anhydrides are synthesized from epoxides with excellent retention of stereochemical purity. The mechanism of epoxide double carbonylation with 1 was investigated by in situ IR spectroscopy, which reveals that the two carbonylation stages are sequential and non-overlapping, such that epoxide carbonylation goes to completion before any of the intermediate beta-lactone is consumed. The rates of both epoxide and lactone carbonylation are independent of carbon monoxide pressure and are first-order in the concentration of 1. The stages differ in that the rate of epoxide carbonylation is independent of substrate concentration and first-order in donor solvent, whereas the rate of lactone carbonylation is first-order in lactone and inversely dependent on the concentration of donor solvent. The opposite solvent effects and substrate order for these two stages are rationalized in terms of different resting states and rate-determining steps for each carbonylation reaction.     

An Ireland-Claisen approach to lignans: synthesis of the putative structure of 5-epi-eupomatilone-6

A novel Ireland-Claisen approach to the putative structure of eupomatilone-6 is described. The rearrangement established the C3 and C4 stereocenters and concomitantly generated a vinyl epoxide. The C5 oxygen was installed by cyclization of the pentenoic acid carboxyl group onto the vinyl epoxide in an S(N)2' fashion to afford the C5-epi stereochemistry. The natural C5 stereochemistry was accessed via a substrate directed dihydroxylation.     

High-performance liquid chromatography of glutathione conjugates

Summary An ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the quantitative assay of glutathione (GSH) conjugates derived from endogenous electrophilic substances as well as xenobiotics. GSH (reduced and oxidized forms) and GSH conjugates were condensated with o-phthaldialdehyde to highly fluorescent derivatives and monitored at 338 nm excitation and 450 nm emission wavelengths after separation by ion-exchange HPLC on a 60-5NH₂ Polygosil analytical column. The detection limit was 2 pmol for the GSH conjugate of cholesterol epoxide and 6 pmol for the GSH conjugate of oleic acid epoxide. This method allows sensitive determination of all GSH conjugates independent of the chromatographic and spectrophotometric properties of the electrophilic substrates. Using this method we could show for the first time that the endogenous compound oleic acid epoxide is a specific substrate for the cytosolic rat liver GSH S-transferase. The method is applied to the determination of GSH S-transferase activity towards oleic acid epoxide and cholesterol epoxide.     

The Effects of Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding on the Reaction of Phenols with Epoxide in the Presence of Nano Calcium Carbonate

The reaction of phenols and dihydroxybenzenes with epoxide in the presence of nano CaCO₃ was studied. Catechol could react with epoxide and gave monochlorohydrin derivative; other dihydroxybenzenes and monomeric phenols had no reaction under the same conditions. The reaction of catechol with epoxide did not occur when nano CaCO₃ was replaced by a normal one. These were attributed to the strong interaction between nano CaCO₃ and the substrate as catechol possessed intrahydrogen bond and excess active hydrogen, which can induce the intramolecular proton transfer via the intramolecular hydrogen bond and promote the reaction of hydroxyl and epoxide. This is an example revealing the unique role of the hydrogen bond played in chemical reactions.     

Sensitive gas chromatographic methods for the determination of vinyl epoxide synthetase activity using trichloroethylene as a model substrate

Two specific and very sensitive methods for the determination of vinyl epoxide synthetase activity in liver microsomes are described. Trichloroethylene, which is used as a substrate, is converted into trichloroethylene oxide by a hepatic epoxide synthetase. Chloral hydrate, the final rearrangement product of trichloroethylene oxide, is determined by electron-capture gas chromatography, either after derivatization with pentafluorophenylhydrazine or after its conversion into chloroform under alkaline conditions. The kinetic parameters of the epoxidation reaction were determined on rat hepatic microsomal suspensions.     

Theoretical study of the full reaction mechanism of human soluble epoxide hydrolase

The complete reaction mechanism of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) has been investigated by using the B3LYP density functional theory method. Epoxide hydrolases catalyze the conversion of epoxides to their corresponding vicinal diols. In our theoretical study, the sEH active site is represented by quantum-chemical models that are based on the X-ray crystal structure of human soluble epoxide hydrolase. The trans-substituted epoxide (1S,2S)-beta-methylstyrene oxide has been used as a substrate in the theoretical investigation of the sEH reaction mechanism. Both the alkylation and the hydrolytic half-reactions have been studied in detail. We present the energetics of the reaction mechanism as well as the optimized intermediates and transition-state structures. Full potential energy curves for the reactions involving nucleophilic attack at either the benzylic or the homo-benzylic carbon atom of (1S,2S)-beta-methylstyrene oxide have been computed. The regioselectivity of epoxide opening has been addressed for the two substrates (1S,2S)-beta-methylstyrene oxide and (S)-styrene oxide.     

The Reaction of Biadamantylidene with Singlet Oxygen in the Presence of Dyes [1]

Singlet oxygen, generated chemically or photogenetically, reacts with biadamantylidene to give the corresponding dioxetane and epoxide only. When methylene blue (MB) or meso-tetraphenylporphin (m-TPP) is used as sensitizer the normal reaction course occurs giving dioxetane as the preponderant product in 2-propanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, pinacolone, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride and benzene, although in the last two solvents some 10–25% of epoxide is formed. When erythrosin and rose bengal (RB) are used, epoxide becomes the main product (70–95%). Epoxide does not derive from chemical reaction with the solvent. Pinacolone, for example, is not oxidized to t-butyl acetate. The rose bengal reaction involves both singlet oxygen and radicals, since diazabicyclooctane (DABCO) and di-t-butyl-p-cresol interfere with the oxidation. A mechanistic scheme is proposed in which sensitizer and oxygen combine to produce sensitizer radical cation and superoxide radical anion. Subsequently, hydroperoxy radical, deriving from superoxide, reacts with substrate to give epoxide and hydroxy radicals. The latter adds to substrate to give a new radical which captures triplet oxygen. Epoxide is formed by loss of hydroperoxy radical and the chain starts anew. The dioxetane is formed separately either by [2+2]-cycloaddition or stepwise addition.     

Enantioselective Enzymes by Computational Design and In Silico Screening

Computational enzyme design holds great promise for providing new biocatalysts for synthetic chemistry. A strategy to design small mutant libraries of complementary enantioselective epoxide hydrolase variants for the production of highly enantioenriched (S,S)‐diols and (R,R)‐diols is developed. Key features of this strategy (CASCO, catalytic selectivity by computational design) are the design of mutations that favor binding of the substrate in a predefined orientation, the introduction of steric hindrance to prevent unwanted substrate binding modes, and ranking of designs by high‐throughput molecular dynamics simulations. Using this strategy we obtained highly stereoselective mutants of limonene epoxide hydrolase after experimental screening of only 37 variants. The results indicate that computational methods can replace a substantial amount of laboratory work when developing enantioselective enzymes.     

Cavities create a potential back door in epoxide hydrolase Rv1938 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis—A molecular dynamics simulation study

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the causative organism of tuberculosis. Extensively drug resistant strains and latency have posed formidable challenges in the treatment of tuberculosis. The current study addresses an alpha/beta hydrolase fold bearing enzyme, epoxide hydrolase Rv1938 from Mtb. Epoxide hydrolases are involved in detoxification processes, catabolism and regulation of signaling molecules. Using GROMACS, a 100 ns Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation was performed for Rv1938. Cavities were identified within the protein at various time frames of the simulation and their volumes were computed. During MD simulation, in addition to the substrate binding cavity, opening of two new cavities located behind the active site was observed. These cavities may be similar to the backdoor proposed for acetylcholinesterase. Structural superimposition of epoxide hydrolase from Mtb with the epoxide hydrolase of Agrobacterium radiobacter1 AD1 (Ephy) indicates that cavity1 in Mtb lies at an identical position to that of the water tunnel in Ephy. Further, docking of the substrate and an inhibitor with protein structures obtained from MD simulation at various time frames was also performed. The potential role of these cavities is discussed.     

Synthesis and cationic photopolymerization of monomers based on nopol

Starting with nopol [(R)‐(−)‐2‐(2′‐hydroxyethyl)‐6,6‐dimethyl‐8‐oxatricyclo[3.1.1.1^2,3]octane, I] as a substrate, two new, interesting monomers, allyl nopol ether epoxide III and nopol 1‐propenyl ether epoxide IV, were prepared. The photoinitiated cationic polymerizations of these two monomers as well as several other model compounds were studied using real‐time infrared spectroscopy. Surprisingly, the rates of epoxide ring‐opening polymerization of both monomers were enhanced as compared to those of the model compounds. Two different mechanisms which involve the free radical induced decomposition of the diaryliodonium salt photoinitiator were proposed to explain the rate acceleration effects. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1199–1209, 1999     

Manipulating the stereoselectivity of limonene epoxide hydrolase by directed evolution based on iterative saturation mutagenesis

Limonene epoxide hydrolase from Rhodococcus erythropolis DCL 14 (LEH) is known to be an exceptional epoxide hydrolase (EH) because it has an unusual secondary structure and catalyzes the hydrolysis of epoxides by a rare one-step mechanism in contrast to the usual two-step sequence. From a synthetic organic viewpoint it is unfortunate that LEH shows acceptable stereoselectivity essentially only in the hydrolysis of the natural substrate limonene epoxide, which means that this EH cannot be exploited as a catalyst in asymmetric transformations of other substrates. In the present study, directed evolution using iterative saturation mutagenesis (ISM) has been tested as a means to engineer LEH mutants showing broad substrate scope with high stereoselectivity. By grouping individual residues aligning the binding pocket correctly into randomization sites and performing saturation mutagenesis iteratively using a reduced amino acid alphabet, mutants were obtained which catalyze the desymmetrization of cyclopentene-oxide with stereoselective formation of either the (R,R)- or the (S,S)-diol on an optional basis. The mutants prove to be excellent catalysts for the desymmetrization of other meso-epoxides and for the hydrolytic kinetic resolution of racemic substrates, without performing new mutagenesis experiments. Since less than 5000 tranformants had to be screened for achieving these results, this study contributes to the generalization of ISM as a fast and reliable method for protein engineering. In order to explain some of the stereoselective consequences of the observed mutations, a simple model based on molecular dynamics simulations has been proposed.     

Reaction mechanism of apocarotenoid oxygenase (ACO): a DFT study

The mechanism of the oxidative cleavage catalyzed by apocarotenoid oxygenase (ACO) was studied by using a quantum chemical (DFT: B3 LYP) method. Based on the available crystal structure, relatively large models of the unusual active-site region, in which a ferrous ion is coordinated by four histidines and no negatively charged ligand, were selected and used in the computational investigation of the reaction mechanism. The results suggest that binding of dioxygen to the ferrous ion in the active site promotes one-electron oxidation of carotenoid leading to a substrate radical cation and a Fe-bound superoxide radical. Recombination of the two radicals, which can be realized in at least two different ways, yields a reactive peroxo species that subsequently evolves into either a dioxetane or an epoxide intermediate. The former easily decays into the final aldehyde products, whereas the oxidation of the epoxide to the proper products of the reaction requires involvement of a water molecule. The calculated activation barriers favor the dioxetane mechanism, yet the mechanism involving the epoxide intermediate cannot be ruled out.     

Experimental evidence for multiple oxidation pathways in the (salen) Mn-catalyzed epoxidation of alkenes

The substrate electronic effects on the selectivity in the catalytic epoxidation of para-substituted cis stilbenes 2a-i were investigated by using (R,R)-[N,N'-bis(3,5-di-tBu-salicylidene)-1,2-cyclohexanediamine]manganese(III) chloride 1 in benzene as the catalyst with iodosobenzene as the terminal oxidant. A Hammett study of the selectivity results reveals a stronger electrophilic character than previously assumed in the (salen)Mn-catalyzed reaction. In general, the best correlations with the experimental values were obtained by using the Hammett sigma + values, which gave rho = -1.37 for the rate of cis-epoxide formation and rho = -0.43 for the rate of the stepwise process leading to the corresponding trans product. The reaction involves two separate pathways as indicated also by the competitive breakdown of the intermediate on the path to trans epoxide for methoxy-substituted substrates. The asynchronicity in the concerted pathway leading to cis epoxide is apparent for 4-methoxy-4'-nitrostilbene, which yields cis epoxide with 75% ee entirely as a result of electronic effects.     

Stereoselectivity and substrate specificity in the kinetic resolution of methyl-substituted 1-oxaspiro[2.5]octanes by Rhodotorula glutinis epoxide hydrolase

The kinetic resolution of a range of methyl-substituted 1-oxaspiro[2.5]octanes by yeast epoxide hydrolase (YEH) from Rhodotorula glutinis has been investigated. The structural determinants of substrate specificity and stereoselectivity of YEH toward these substrates appeared to be the configuration of the epoxide ring and the substitution pattern of the cyclohexane ring. For all compounds tested, O-axial epoxides were hydrolyzed faster than the corresponding O-equatorial compounds. In concern of the ring substituents, YEH preferred methyl groups on the Re side of the ring. Placement of substituents close to the spiroepoxide carbon decreased the reaction rate but increased enantioselectivity. YEH-catalyzed kinetic resolutions of 4-methyl 1-oxaspiro[2.5]octane epimers were most enantioselective (E > 100).     

Enzymatic transformations. Part 55: Highly productive epoxide hydrolase catalysed resolution of an azole antifungal key synthon

A highly productive bioprocess for the preparation of enantiopure azole antifungal chirons is described. These are key building blocks for the synthesis of new triazole drug derivatives known to display valuable activity against such infections as for instance fluconazole-resistant oro-oesophageal candidiasis. Using commercially available recombinant Aspergillus niger epoxide hydrolase under optimised experimental conditions, the hydrolytic kinetic resolution of 1-chloro-2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-2,3-epoxypropane was performed in plain water, at room temperature, using a two-phase reactor. This methodology allowed the process to be run at a substrate concentration as high as 500 g/L (i.e., 2.5 M) and afforded the (unreacted) epoxide and the corresponding vicinal diol, both in nearly enantiopure form and quantitative yield.     

Catalytic Effects of Aluminum Butoxyethoxide in Sol-Gel Hybrid Hard Coatings

Hybrid inorganic-organic hard coatings on PMMA substrate were obtained by sol-gel reaction of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane(GPTS), tetramethyl orthosilicate(TMOS) and aluminum butoxyethoxide (Al(OEtOBu)₃). The catalytic effect of aluminum butoxyethoxide on inorganic condensation and epoxide polymerization has been studied by ¹³C, ²⁹Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Hardness of hybrid inorganic-organic materials were measured by nanoindentor and mainly influenced by the extent of epoxide polymerization and inorganic condensation of their coating catalyzed by aluminum butoxyethoxide.