Protein Engineering of an Artificial P450BM3 Peroxygenase System Enables Highly Selective O-Demethylation of Lignin Monomers

The O-demethylation of lignin monomers, which has drawn substantial attention recently, is critical for the formation of phenols from aromatic ethers. The P450BM3 peroxygenase system was recently found to enable the O-demethylation of different aromatic ethers with the assistance of dual-functional small molecules (DFSM), but these prepared mutants only have either moderate O-demethylation activity or moderate selectivity, which hinders their further application. In this study, we improve the system by introducing different amino acids into the active site of P450BM3, and these amino acids with different side chains impacted the catalytic ability of enzymes due to their differences in size, polarity, and hydrophobicity. Among the prepared mutants, the combination of V78A/F87A/T268I/A264G and Im-C6-Phe efficiently catalyzed the O-demethylation of guaiacol (TON = 839) with 100% selectivity. Compared with NADPH-dependent systems, we offer an economical and practical bioconversion avenue.     

Anchoring a Structurally Editable Proximal Cofactor-like Module to Construct an Artificial Dual-center Peroxygenase

A recent novel strategy for constructing artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) that target new-to-nature functions uses dual-functional small molecules (DFSMs) with catalytic and anchoring groups for converting P450BM3 monooxygenase into a peroxygenase. However, this process requires excess DFSMs (1000 equivalent of P450) owing to their low binding affinity for P450, thus severely limiting its practical application. Herein, structural optimization of the DFSM-anchoring group considerably enhanced their binding affinity by three orders of magnitude (K_d≈10⁻⁸ M), thus approximating native cofactors, such as FMN or FAD in flavoenzymes. An artificial cofactor-driven peroxygenase was thus constructed. The co-crystal structure of P450BM3 bound to a DFSM clearly revealed a precatalytic state in which the DFSM participates in H₂O₂ activation, thus facilitating peroxygenase activity. Moreover, the increased binding affinity substantially decreases the DFSM load to as low as 2 equivalents of P450, while maintaining increased activity. Furthermore, replacement of catalytic groups showed disparate selectivity and activity for various substrates. This study provides an unprecedented approach for assembling ArMs by binding editable organic cofactors as a co-catalytic center, thereby increasing the catalytic promiscuity of P450 enzymes.     

Comparison of Ta–MCM-41 and Ti–MCM-41 as catalysts for the enantioselective epoxidation of styrene with TBHP

Chiral Ti–MCM-41 and Ta–MCM-41 catalysts have been prepared by grafting of Ti(OⁱPr)₄ and Ta(OEt)₅ and the modification with R-(+)-diethyl l-tartrate or R-(+)-diisopropyl l-tartrate. In general, the solid catalysts are more active and selective than their homogeneous counterparts in the epoxidation of styrene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide. The enantioselectivities depend on both the nature of the chiral ligand and the calcination temperature of the support, as it is supposed this controls the type of surface species that are formed. The best result of 71% ee is obtained with DIPT–Ta–MCM₅₅₀ and is the first example of the use of a Ta catalyst for the enantioselective epoxidation of unfunctionalized alkenes. Nonetheless, the recovered Ta catalysts are less active and selective.     

Enantioselective olefin epoxidation using novel biphenyl and binaphthyl azepines and azepinium salts

Homologous biphenyl and (diastereomeric) binaphthyl tertiary azepines and quaternary iminium salts were prepared from (S)- and (R)-3,3-dimethylbutan-2-amine. Both the amines and iminium ions behave as effective catalysts for the enantioselective epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins (ee up to 87%).     

Chiral‐Substrate‐Assisted Stereoselective Epoxidation Catalyzed by H2O2‐Dependent Cytochrome P450SPα

The stereoselective epoxidation of styrene was catalyzed by H₂O₂‐dependent cytochrome P450_SPα in the presence of carboxylic acids as decoy molecules. The stereoselectivity of styrene oxide could be altered by the nature of the decoy molecules. In particular, the chirality at the α‐positions of the decoy molecules induced a clear difference in the chirality of the product: (R)‐ibuprofen enhanced the formation of (S)‐styrene oxide, whereas (S)‐ibuprofen preferentially afforded (R)‐styrene oxide. The crystal structure of an (R)‐ibuprofen‐bound cytochrome P450_SPα (resolution 1.9 Å) revealed that the carboxylate group of (R)‐ibuprofen served as an acid–base catalyst to initiate the epoxidation. A docking simulation of the binding of styrene in the active site of the (R)‐ibuprofen‐bound form suggested that the orientation of the vinyl group of styrene in the active site agreed with the formation of (S)‐styrene oxide.     

Dual‐Functional Small Molecules for Generating an Efficient Cytochrome P450BM3 Peroxygenase

We report a unique strategy for the development of a H₂O₂‐dependent cytochrome P450BM3 system, which catalyzes the monooxygenation of non‐native substrates with the assistance of dual‐functional small molecules (DFSMs), such as N‐(ω‐imidazolyl fatty acyl)‐l ‐amino acids. The acyl amino acid group of DFSM is responsible for bounding to enzyme as an anchoring group, while the imidazolyl group plays the role of general acid–base catalyst in the activation of H₂O₂. This system affords the best peroxygenase activity for the epoxidation of styrene, sulfoxidation of thioanisole, and hydroxylation of ethylbenzene among those P450–H₂O₂ system previously reported. This work provides the first example of the activation of the normally H₂O₂‐inert P450s through the introduction of an exogenous small molecule. This approach improves the potential use of P450s in organic synthesis as it avoids the expensive consumption of the reduced nicotinamide cofactor NAD(P)H and its dependent electron transport system. This introduces a promising approach for exploiting enzyme activity and function based on direct chemical intervention in the catalytic process.     

Immobilized dimeric chiral Mn(III) salen complex on short channel ordered mesoporous silica as an effective catalyst for the epoxidation of non-functionalized alkenes

Chiral dimeric Mn(III) salen complex with 1R, 2R-(?)-diaminocyclohexane collar was immobilized on short channel large pore sized silica through a long linker of {(CH₂)₃–NH–melamine–piperazine} to investigate its performance in enantioselective epoxidation of chromenes, indene, styrene and cis β-methyl styrene in the presence of pyridine N-oxide (PyNO) as an axial base using aqueous NaOCl as an oxidant at 0 °C. The immobilized catalyst system showed high turnover frequency (TOF) and enantioselectivity for the smaller and bulkier alkenes like styrene, indene, 2,2-dimethylchromene and 6-cyano-2,2-dimethylchromene (ee up to 98%). These results are the best reported for heterogeneous catalyst under biphasic reaction conditions and were comparable to the dimeric Mn(III) salen system under homogeneous condition. The performance of the immobilized catalyst was retained for six reuse experiments. This protocol was extended to the synthesis of an antihypertensive drug (S)-Levchromakalim (ee 98%) at 1 g level.     

Regiodivergent and Enantioselective Hydroxylation of C−H bonds by Synergistic Use of Protein Engineering and Exogenous Dual-Functional Small Molecules

It is a great challenge to optionally access diverse hydroxylation products from a given substrate bearing multiple reaction sites of sp³ and sp² C−H bonds. Herein, we report the highly selective divergent hydroxylation of alkylbenzenes by an engineered P450 peroxygenase driven by a dual-functional small molecule (DFSM). Using combinations of various P450BM3 variants with DFSMs enabled access to more than half of all possible hydroxylated products from each substrate with excellent regioselectivity (up to >99 %), enantioselectivity (up to >99 % ee), and high total turnover numbers (up to 80963). Crystal structure analysis, molecular dynamic simulations, and theoretical calculations revealed that synergistic effects between exogenous DFSMs and the protein environment controlled regio- and enantioselectivity. This work has implications for exogenous-molecule-modulated enzymatic regiodivergent and enantioselective hydroxylation with potential applications in synthetic chemistry.     

Synthesis and X-ray crystal structure of a chiral molybdenum porphyrin and its catalytic behaviour toward asymmetric epoxidation of aromatic alkenes

Reaction of M(CO)₆ with H₂P* (5,10,15,20-tetrakis-{(1S,4R,5R,8S)-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-1,4:5,8-dimethanoanthracene-9-yl}porphyrin) followed by treatment with methanol afforded [Mo^VO(P*)(OMe)] (1) in ∼80% yield. Complex 1 was characterised by IR and ESR spectroscopy and X-ray structure determination. This chiral molybdenum porphyrin was found to catalyse the epoxidation of styrene, cis-β-methylstyrene, and 1,2-dihydronaphthalene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide in up to 29% ee.     

Engineering P450 Peroxygenase to Catalyze Highly Enantioselective Epoxidation of cis‐β‐Methylstyrenes

P450 119 peroxygenase and its site‐directed mutants are discovered to catalyze the enantioselective epoxidation of methyl‐substituted styrenes. Two new site‐directed P450 119 mutants, namely T213Y and T213M, which were designed to improve the enantioselectivity and activity for the epoxidation of styrene and its methyl substituted derivatives, were studied. The T213M mutant is found to be the first engineered P450 peroxygenase that shows highly enantioselective epoxidation of cis‐β‐methylstyrenes, with up to 91 % ee. Molecular modeling studies provide insights into the different catalytic activity of the T213M mutant and the T213Y mutant in the epoxidation of cis‐β‐methylstyrene. The results of the calculations also contribute to a better understanding of the substrate specificity and configuration control for the regio‐ and stereoselective peroxygenation catalyzed by the T213M mutant.     

Engineering Cytochrome P450BM3 Enzymes for Direct Nitration of Unsaturated Hydrocarbons

Applications of the peroxidase activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes in synthetic chemistry remain largely unexplored. We present herein a protein engineering strategy to increase cytochrome P450BM3 peroxidase activity for the direct nitration of aromatic compounds and terminal aryl-substituted olefins in the presence of a dual-functional small molecule (DFSM). Site-directed mutations of key active-site residues allowed the efficient regulation of steric effects to limit substrate access and, thus, a significant decrease in monooxygenation activity and increase in peroxidase activity. Nitration of several phenol and aniline compounds also yielded ortho- and para-nitration products with moderate-to-high total turnover numbers. Besides direct aromatic nitration by P450 variants using nitrite as a nitrating agent, we also demonstrated the use of the DFSM-facilitated P450 peroxidase system for the nitration of the vinyl group of styrene and its derivatives.     

Selective Oxidations Using a Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Variant Driven with Surrogate Oxygen Donors and Light

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase enzymes are versatile catalysts, which have been adapted for multiple applications in chemical synthesis. Mutation of a highly conserved active site threonine to a glutamate can convert these enzymes into peroxygenases that utilise hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Here, we use the T252E-CYP199A4 variant to study peroxide-driven oxidation activity by using H₂O₂ and urea-hydrogen peroxide (UHP). We demonstrate that the T252E variant has a higher stability to H₂O₂ in the presence of substrate that can undergo carbon-hydrogen abstraction. This peroxygenase variant could efficiently catalyse O-demethylation and an enantioselective epoxidation reaction (94 % ee). Neither the monooxygenase nor peroxygenase pathways of the P450 demonstrated a significant kinetic isotope effect (KIE) for the oxidation of deuterated substrates. These new peroxygenase variants offer the possibility of simpler cytochrome P450 systems for selective oxidations. To demonstrate this, a light driven H₂O₂ generating system was used to support efficient product formation with this peroxygenase enzyme.     

Enantioselective olefin epoxidation using homologous amine and iminium catalysts—a direct comparison

Homologous biphenyl and (diastereomeric) binaphthyl tertiary azepines and quaternary iminium salts were prepared from (+)-(S,S)-l-acetonamine. Both the amines and iminium ions behave as effective catalysts for the enantioselective epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins (ee up to 83%).     

A unique binaphthyl strapped iron-porphyrin catalyst for the enantioselective epoxidation of terminal olefins

A new chiral binaphthyl-strapped iron-porphyrin 4 b that exhibits unprecedented catalytic activity toward the enantioselective epoxidation of terminal olefins was synthesized. Typical enantiomeric excesses (ee) of 90 % were measured with a maximum of 97 % for the epoxidation of styrene, whereas the turnover numbers (TON) averaged 16000.     

Enantioselective iminium-catalyzed epoxidation of hindered trisubstituted allylic alcohols

The reactivity of diastereomeric biaryl iminium cations made of a (Ra)-5,5′,6,6′,7,7′,8,8′-octahydrobinaphthyl core and exocyclic appendages derived from (S)- or (R)-3,3-dimethylbutyl-2-amine was investigated with hindered trisubstituted allylic alcohols—a class of alkenes which had not been previously studied in detail in epoxidation reactions with cyclic iminium catalysts (ee up to 98%). Surprisingly, generally strong matched/mismatched effects are observed not only in terms of reactivity but also on the enantioselectivity of the reaction (Δee up to 16%). Also, for the most hindered substrates, two sets of reaction conditions were tested in a preliminary study and little advantage was found in running reactions in MeCN/water instead of CH₂Cl₂/water/18-C-6. In any case, the presence of the hydroxyl group did not reveal any anchimeric effect.     

Production of Enantiopure Chiral Epoxides with E. coli Expressing Styrene Monooxygenase

Styrene monooxygenases are a group of highly selective enzymes able to catalyse the epoxidation of alkenes to corresponding chiral epoxides in excellent enantiopurity. Chiral compounds containing oxirane ring or products of their hydrolysis represent key building blocks and precursors in organic synthesis in the pharmaceutical industry, and many of them are produced on an industrial scale. Two-component recombinant styrene monooxygenase (SMO) from Marinobacterium litorale was expressed as a fused protein (StyAL2StyB) in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). By high cell density fermentation, 35 g_DCW/L of biomass with overexpressed SMO was produced. SMO exhibited excellent stability, broad substrate specificity, and enantioselectivity, as it remained active for months and converted a group of alkenes to corresponding chiral epoxides in high enantiomeric excess (˃95–99% ee). Optically pure (S)-4-chlorostyrene oxide, (S)-allylbenzene oxide, (2R,5R)-1,2:5,6-diepoxyhexane, 2-(3-bromopropyl)oxirane, and (S)-4-(oxiran-2-yl)butan-1-ol were prepared by whole-cell SMO.     

Highly enantioselective hydrogenation of 2-oxo-4-arybutanoic acids to 2-hydroxy-4-arylbutanoic acids

The Ru-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 2-oxo-4-arybutanoic acids to afford 2-hydroxy-4-arybutanoic acids was accomplished by employing SunPhos as chiral ligand and 1 M aq HBr as additive. The high enantioselectivities (88.4%-92.6% ee) and efficiency (TON=10,000, TOF=300 h⁻¹) make this method efficient for the synthesis of an important intermediate, (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoic acid, for ACE inhibitors.     

Enantioselective hydrogenation of olefins with axial chiral iridium QUINAP complex

(S)-QUINAP reacted with [Ir(cod)Cl]₂ to form a new chelating iridium complex in 77.4% yield. The iridium complex was proved to be a highly efficient catalyst for the enantioselective hydrogenation of olefins. 33.4-95.1% ee were obtained for the hydrogenation of unfunctionalized olefins and 90.8-96.1% ee were obtained for functionalized olefins.     

Asymmetric inter- and intramolecular cyclopropanations of alkenes catalyzed by rhodium D4-porphyrin: a comparison of rhodium- and ruthenium-centred catalysts

Iodo-(5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-1,4:5,8-dimethanoanthracen-9-yl)porphyrinatorhodium(III), designated as [Rh(P*)(I)], was prepared and its catalytic activity in the asymmetric cyclopropanation of alkenes with ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) was examined. High catalyst turnovers (TON >10³) and moderate enantioselectivities (up to 68% ee) were observed. However, the obtained trans/cis ratios are low. Competition experiments revealed that electron-donating substituents on styrene accelerate the cyclopropanations. The log(k_X/k_H) versus σ⁺ plot for substituted styrenes exhibits a good linearity with a small negative ρ⁺ value (−0.14). [Rh(P*)(I)] is also active in the intramolecular cyclopropanation of allyl diazoacetates. A comparison between rhodium and ruthenium porphyrin complexes was made.