Enantioselective Allylic Hydroxylation of ω‐Alkenoic Acids and Esters by P450 BM3 Monooxygenase

Chiral allylic alcohols of ω‐alkenoic acids and derivatives thereof are highly important building blocks for the synthesis of biologically active compounds. The direct enantioselective C? H oxidation of linear terminal olefins offers the shortest route toward these compounds, but known synthetic methods are limited and suffer from low selectivities. Described herein is an enzymatic approach using the P450 BM3 monooxygenase mutant A74G/L188Q, which catalyzes allylic hydroxylation with high to excellent chemo‐ and enantioselectivities providing the desirable secondary alcohols.     

Cytochrome P450 Catalyzed Oxidative Hydroxylation of Achiral Organic Compounds with Simultaneous Creation of Two Chirality Centers in a Single CH Activation Step

Regio‐ and stereoselective oxidative hydroxylation of achiral or chiral organic compounds mediated by synthetic reagents, catalysts, or enzymes generally leads to the formation of one new chiral center that appears in the respective enantiomeric or diastereomeric alcohols. By contrast, when subjecting appropriate achiral compounds to this type of C? H activation, the simultaneous creation of two chiral centers with a defined relative and absolute configuration may result, provided that control of the regio‐, diastereo‐, and enantioselectivity is ensured. The present study demonstrates that such control is possible by using wild type or mutant forms of the monooxygenase cytochrome P450 BM3 as catalysts in the oxidative hydroxylation of methylcyclohexane and seven other monosubstituted cyclohexane derivatives.     

A Panel of Cytochrome P450 BM3 Variants to Produce Drug Metabolites and Diversify Lead Compounds

Herein we demonstrate that a small panel of variants of cytochrome P450 BM3 from Bacillus megaterium covers the breadth of reactivity of human P450s by producing 12 of 13 mammalian metabolites for two marketed drugs, verapamil and astemizole, and one research compound. The most active enzymes support preparation of individual metabolites for preclinical bioactivity and toxicology evaluations. Underscoring their potential utility in drug lead diversification, engineered P450 BM3 variants also produce novel metabolites by catalyzing reactions at carbon centers beyond those targeted by animal and human P450s. Production of a specific metabolite can be improved by directed evolution of the enzyme catalyst. Some variants are more active on the more hydrophobic parent drug than on its metabolites, which limits production of multiply‐hydroxylated species, a preference that appears to depend on the evolutionary history of the P450 variant.     

Engineering of P450pyr Hydroxylase for the Highly Regio‐ and Enantioselective Subterminal Hydroxylation of Alkanes

Terminal‐selective cytochrome P450pyr has been successfully engineered through directed evolution for the subterminal hydroxylation of alkanes with excellent regio‐ and enantioselectivity. A sensitive colorimetric high‐throughput screening (HTS) assay was developed for the measurement of both the regioselectivity and the enantioselectivity of a hydroxylation reaction. By using the HTS assay and iterative saturation mutagenesis, sextuple‐mutant P450pyrSM1 was created for the hydroxylation of n‐octane ( 1 ) to give (S)‐2‐octanol ( 2 ) with 98 % ee and >99 % subterminal selectivity. The engineered P450 is the first enzyme for this type of highly selective alkane hydroxylation, being useful for the C? H activation and functionalization of alkanes and the preparation of enantiopure alcohols. Molecular modeling provided structure‐based understanding of the fully altered regioselectivity and the excellent enantioselectivity. Another sextuple‐mutant P450pyrSM2 catalyzed the hydroxylation of propylbenzene ( 3 ) to afford (S)‐1‐phenyl‐2‐propanol ( 4 ) with 95 % ee and 98 % subterminal selectivity.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Construction of Heteroatom‐Containing π‐Conjugated Systems by Intramolecular Oxidative CH/CH Coupling Reaction

Synthesis of heteroatom‐containing ladder‐type π‐conjugated molecules was successfully achieved via a palladium‐catalyzed intramolecular oxidative C?H/C?H cross‐coupling reaction. This reaction provides a variety of π‐conjugated molecules bearing heteroatoms, such as nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur atoms, and a carbonyl group. The π‐conjugated molecules were synthesized efficiently, even in gram scale, and larger π‐conjugated molecules were also obtained by a double C?H/C?H cross‐coupling reaction and successive oxidative cycloaromatization.     

细胞色素P450酶电化学生物传感器的构建及其药物代谢应用

药物代谢过程是药物在体内产生药效和毒性的主要过程,发展廉价、方便、快速、高通量的体外药物代谢研究方法对新药的开发和设计、给药的方法和剂量、临床药物的检测等都有重要的指导意义. 细胞色素P450酶（CYP450酶）在药物的I相反应中起到关键作用,以电极代替辅酶NADPH提供CYP450酶催化反应过程中需要的两个电子,构建CYP450酶电化学生物传感器可实现药物的初步筛选. 大量研究表明,CYP450酶在电极表面合适的固定方法与电极材料可有效提高传感器的检测性能. 本文主要综述近年来CYP450酶电化学生物传感器的构建及其在药物代谢研究方面的应用,并展望其研发前景.     

A Convenient Synthesis of N‐Aryl Benzamides by Rhodium‐Catalyzed ortho‐Amidation and Decarboxylation of Benzoic Acids

The rhodium‐catalyzed amidation of substituted benzoic acids with isocyanates by directed C?H functionalization followed by decarboxylation to afford the corresponding N‐aryl benzamides is demonstrated, in which the carboxylate serves as a unique, removable directing group. Notably, less common meta‐substituted N‐aryl benzamides are generated readily from more accessible para‐ or ortho‐substituted groups by employing this strategy.     

Towards Ideal Synthesis: Alkenylation of Aryl CH Bonds by a Fujiwara–Moritani Reaction

An overview of recent progress in the Fujiwara–Moritani reaction, which is the palladium‐catalyzed oxidative coupling of arenes with olefins to afford alkenyl arenes, is described. It is emphasized that regioselectivity on aryl ortho‐ or meta‐C?H activation could be controlled very well in the presence of Pd, Rh, or Ru catalysts with the assistance of various chelation groups on aromatic rings in this coupling reaction. Catalytic alkenylation of aryl C?H bonds from simple arenes is also discussed, especially from electron‐deficient arenes. These advanced protocols would not only make the Fujiwara–Moritani reaction more useful and applicable in organic synthesis but also light the way for the further development of the functionalization of normal C?H bonds.     

The Stereoselective Oxidation of para-Substituted Benzenes by a Cytochrome P450 Biocatalyst

The serine 244 to aspartate (S244D) variant of the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP199A4 was used to expand its substrate range beyond benzoic acids. Substrates, in which the carboxylate group of the benzoic acid moiety is replaced were oxidised with high activity by the S244D mutant (product formation rates >60 nmol.(nmol-CYP)⁻¹.min⁻¹) and with total turnover numbers of up to 20,000. Ethyl α-hydroxylation was more rapid than methyl oxidation, styrene epoxidation and S-oxidation. The S244D mutant catalysed the ethyl hydroxylation, epoxidation and sulfoxidation reactions with an excess of one stereoisomer (in some instances up to >98 %). The crystal structure of 4-methoxybenzoic acid-bound CYP199A4 S244D showed that the active site architecture and the substrate orientation were similar to that of the WT enzyme. Overall, this work demonstrates that CYP199A4 can catalyse the stereoselective hydroxylation, epoxidation or sulfoxidation of substituted benzene substrates under mild conditions resulting in more sustainable transformations using this heme monooxygenase enzyme.     

Whole‐Cell Biotransformation of Benzene to Phenol Catalysed by Intracellular Cytochrome P450BM3 Activated by External Additives

An Escherichia coli whole‐cell biocatalyst for the direct hydroxylation of benzene to phenol has been developed. By adding amino acid derivatives as decoy molecules to the culture medium, wild‐type cytochrome P450BM3 (P450BM3) expressed in E.coli can be activated and non‐native substrates hydroxylated, without supplementing with NADPH. The yield of phenol reached 59 % when N‐heptyl‐l ‐prolyl‐l ‐phenylalanine (C7‐Pro‐Phe) was employed as the decoy molecule. It was shown that decoy molecules, especially those lacking fluorination, reached the cytosol of E. coli, thus imparting in vivo catalytic activity for the oxyfunctionalisation of non‐native substrates to intracellular P450BM3.     

Efficient Rhodium‐Catalyzed Multicomponent Reaction for the Synthesis of Novel Propargylamines

[{Rh(μ‐Cl)(H)₂(IPr)}₂] (IPr = 1,3‐bis‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)imidazole‐2‐ylidene) was found to be an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of novel propargylamines by a one‐pot three‐component reaction between primary arylamines, aliphatic aldehydes, and triisopropylsilylacetylene. This methodology offers an efficient synthetic pathway for the preparation of secondary propargylamines derived from aliphatic aldehydes. The reactivity of [{Rh(μ‐Cl)(H)₂(IPr)}₂] with amines and aldehydes was studied, leading to the identification of complexes [RhCl(CO)IPr(MesNH₂)] (MesNH₂ = 2,4,6‐trimethylaniline) and [RhCl(CO)₂IPr]. The latter shows a very low catalytic activity while the former brought about reaction rates similar to those obtained with [{Rh(μ‐Cl)(H)₂(IPr)}₂]. Besides, complex [RhCl(CO)IPr(MesNH₂)] reacts with an excess of amine and aldehyde to give [RhCl(CO)IPr{MesN?CHCH₂CH(CH₃)₂}], which was postulated as the active species. A mechanism that clarifies the scarcely studied catalytic cycle of A₃‐coupling reactions is proposed based on reactivity studies and DFT calculations.     

CYPstrate: A Set of Machine Learning Models for the Accurate Classification of Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Substrates and Non-Substrates

The interaction of small organic molecules such as drugs, agrochemicals, and cosmetics with cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) can lead to substantial changes in the bioavailability of active substances and hence consequences with respect to pharmacological efficacy and toxicity. Therefore, efficient means of predicting the interactions of small organic molecules with CYPs are of high importance to a host of different industries. In this work, we present a new set of machine learning models for the classification of xenobiotics into substrates and non-substrates of nine human CYP isozymes: CYPs 1A2, 2A6, 2B6, 2C8, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1, and 3A4. The models are trained on an extended, high-quality collection of known substrates and non-substrates and have been subjected to thorough validation. Our results show that the models yield competitive performance and are favorable for the detection of CYP substrates. In particular, a new consensus model reached high performance, with Matthews correlation coefficients (MCCs) between 0.45 (CYP2C8) and 0.85 (CYP3A4), although at the cost of coverage. The best models presented in this work are accessible free of charge via the “CYPstrate” module of the New E-Resource for Drug Discovery (NERDD).