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Although optical pure amino alcohols are in high demand due to their widespread applicability, they still remain challenging to synthesize, since commonly elaborated protection strategies are required. Here, a multi-enzymatic methodology is presented that circumvents this obstacle furnishing enantioenriched 1,3-amino alcohols out of commodity chemicals. A Type I aldolase forged the carbon backbone with an enantioenriched aldol motif, which was subsequently subjected to enzymatic transamination. A panel of 194 TAs was tested on diverse nine aldol products prepared through different nucleophiles and electrophiles. Due to the availability of (R)- and (S)-selective TAs, both diastereomers of the 1,3-amino alcohol motif were accessible. A two-step process enabled the synthesis of the desired amino alcohols with up to three chiral centers with de up to >97 in the final products. (Figure presented.)., This research was funded in part by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [J 4242-B21]. M. P. acknowledges funding by the Austrian FWF through an Erwin Schrödinger fellowship and by grants PID2021-122166OB−I00 and PCI2018-092937 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and by “ERDF A way of making Europe” and under the ERACoBioTech (European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No [722361]. The authors wish to thank Goran Djordjic for technical assistance and Klaus Zangger for NMR measurements and valuable discussions. The University of Graz and BioHealth Graz are acknowledged for financial support.

Recently, an increased interest toward enzymatic carboligation was observed, as biocatalytic carbon–carbon bond formation is a common obstacle in retrosynthetic planning. The construction of extended 2-oxoacid frameworks by 2-oxoacid aldolases and enzymes acting as aldolases is a potent tool for synthetic chemists since a broad spectrum of downstream reactions through functional group interconversions gives access to a plethora of compound classes. In the search for selective biocatalysts, successful protein engineering efforts and high throughput screenings from biodiversity expand the structural diversity of nucleophile and electrophile substrates. Several successful examples with an emphasis on reactions catalyzed by class II aldolases and enzymes acting as class II aldolases are highlighted, including reactions in which both enantiomeric products and in selected cases even diastereomeric products are accessed.

A two‐enzyme cascade reaction plus in situ oxidative decarboxylation for the transformation of readily available canonical and non‐canonical l‐α‐amino acids into 2‐substituted 3‐hydroxycarboxylic acid derivatives is described. The biocatalytic cascade consisted of an oxidative deamination of l‐α‐amino acids by an l‐α‐amino acid deaminase from Cosenzaea myxofaciens, rendering 2‐oxoacid intermediates, with an ensuing aldol addition reaction to formaldehyde, catalyzed by metal‐dependent (R)‐ or (S)‐selective carboligases namely 2‐oxo‐3‐deoxy‐l‐rhamnonate aldolase (YfaU) and ketopantoate hydroxymethyltransferase (KPHMT), respectively, furnishing 3‐substituted 4‐hydroxy‐2‐oxoacids. The overall substrate conversion was optimized by balancing biocatalyst loading and amino acid and formaldehyde concentrations, yielding 36–98% aldol adduct formation and 91–98% ee for each enantiomer. Subsequent in situ follow‐up chemistry via hydrogen peroxide‐driven oxidative decarboxylation afforded the corresponding 2‐substituted 3‐hydroxycarboxylic acid derivatives., This project has received funding from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) (grants RTI2018‐094637‐B‐I00) and Programación Conjunta Internacional PCI2018‐092937 under the ERACoBioTech (European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No [722361]. This research was funded in part by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [J 4227‐B21]. M. P. acknowledges funding by the Austrian FWF through an Erwin Schrödinger fellowship.. The PmaLAAD expression plasmid was a generous gift from Prof. Wolfgang Kroutil (University of Graz).

Synthetically established methods for methylation of phenols and demethylation of methyl phenyl ethers rely in general on hazardous reagents or/and harsh reaction conditions and are irreversible. Consequently, alternative regioselective methods for the reversible formation and breakage of C-O-ether bonds to be performed under mild and sustainable conditions are highly desired. Here we present a biocatalytic shuttle concept making use of corrinoid-dependent methyl transferases from anaerobic bacteria. The two-component enzymatic system consists of a corrinoid protein carrying the cofactor and acting as methyl group shuttle, and a methyltransferase catalyzing both methylation and demethylation in a reversible fashion. Various phenyl methyl ethers are successfully demethylated and serve in addition as sustainable methylating agents for the functionalization of various substituted catechols. Therefore, this methyl transfer approach represents a promising alternative to common chemical protocols and a valuable add-on for the toolbox of available biocatalysts. Regioselective methods for the reversible formation and breakage of C-O-ether bonds under mild conditions are desired. Here, the authors present a biocatalytic shuttle concept using corrinoid-dependent methyl transferases for demethylating various phenyl methyl ethers and functionalizing substituted catechols.

Various flavoprotein oxidases were recently shown to oxidize primary thiols. Herein, this reactivity is extended to sec-thiols by using structure-guided engineering of 5-(hydroxymethyl) furfural oxidase (HMFO). The variants obtained were employed for the oxidative kinetic resolution of racemic sec-thiols, thus yielding the corresponding thioketones and nonreacted R-configured thiols with excellent enantioselectivities (E >= 200). The engineering strategy applied went beyond the classic approach of replacing bulky amino acid residues with smaller ones, as the active site was additionally enlarged by a newly introduced Thr residue. This residue established a hydrogen-bonding interaction with the substrates, as verified in the crystal structure of the variant. These strategies unlocked HMFO variants for the enantioselective oxidation of a range of sec-thiols.

The oxidation of allylic alcohols is challenging to perform in a chemo‐ as well as stereo‐selective fashion at the expense of molecular oxygen using conventional chemical protocols. Here, we report the identification of a library of flavin‐dependent oxidases including variants of the berberine bridge enzyme (BBE) analogue from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtBBE15) and the 5‐(hydroxymethyl)furfural oxidase (HMFO) and its variants (V465T, V465S, V465T/W466H and V367R/W466F) for the enantioselective oxidation of sec‐allylic alcohols. While primary and benzylic alcohols as well as certain sugars are well known to be transformed by flavin‐dependent oxidases, sec‐allylic alcohols have not been studied yet except in a single report. The model substrates investigated were oxidized enantioselectively in a kinetic resolution with an E‐value of up to >200. For instance HMFO V465S/T oxidized the (S)‐enantiomer of (E)‐oct‐3‐en‐2‐ol (1 a) and (E)‐4‐phenylbut‐3‐en‐2‐ol with E>200 giving the remaining (R)‐alcohol with ee>99% at 50% conversion. The enantioselectivity could be decreased if required by medium engineering by the addition of cosolvents (e. g. dimethyl sulfoxide).

The oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl or carboxyl compounds represents a convenient strategy for the selective introduction of electrophilic carbon centres into carbohydrate-based starting materials. The O2-dependent oxidation of prim-alcohols by flavin-containing alcohol oxidases often yields mixtures of aldehyde and carboxylic acid, which is due to “over-oxidation” of the aldehyde hydrate intermediate. In order to directly convert alcohols into carboxylic acids, rational engineering of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural oxidase was performed. In an attempt to improve the binding of the aldehyde hydrate in the active site to boost aldehyde-oxidase activity, two active-site residues were exchanged for hydrogen-bond-donating and -accepting amino acids. Enhanced over-oxidation was demonstrated and Michaelis–Menten kinetics were performed to corroborate these findings.

The functionalization of bio‐based chemicals is essential to allow valorization of natural carbon sources. An atom‐efficient biocatalytic oxidative cascade was developed for the conversion of saturated fatty acids to α‐ketoacids. Employment of P450 monooxygenase in the peroxygenase mode for regioselective α‐hydroxylation of fatty acids combined with enantioselective oxidation by α‐hydroxyacid oxidase(s) resulted in internal recycling of the oxidant H2O2, thus minimizing degradation of ketoacid product and maximizing biocatalyst lifetime. The O2‐dependent cascade relies on catalytic amounts of H2O2 and releases water as sole by‐product. Octanoic acid was converted under mild conditions in aqueous buffer to 2‐oxooctanoic acid in a simultaneous one‐pot two‐step cascade in up to >99 % conversion without accumulation of hydroxyacid intermediate. Scale‐up allowed isolation of final product in 91 % yield and the cascade was applied to fatty acids of various chain lengths (C6:0 to C10:0).

(S)-Rivastigmine [(S)-1] was obtained via a four-step synthesis using an asymmetric enzymatic transamination protocol as the key step. An early introduction of the carbamate pharmacophore side chain avoided the use of protective group strategies and hence led to a considerable shortcut. This strategy required a novel ω-transaminase from Paracoccus denitrificans, which could transform the highly polar key substrate 3-acetylphenyl ethyl(methyl)carbamate (4) to the corresponding amine (S)-5 in 99% ee and >80% conversion.

Amination of non-activated aliphatic fatty alcohols to the corresponding primary amines was achieved through a five-enzyme cascade reaction by coupling a long-chain alcohol oxidase from Aspergillus fumigatus (LCAO_Af) with a ω-transaminase from Chromobacterium violaceum (ω-TA_Cv). The alcohol was oxidized at the expense of molecular oxygen to yield the corresponding aldehyde, which was subsequently aminated by the PLP-dependent ω-TA to yield the final primary amine product. The overall cascade was optimized with respect to pH, O2 pressure, substrate concentration, decomposition of H2O2 (derived from alcohol oxidation), NADH regeneration, and biocatalyst ratio. The substrate scope of this concept was investigated under optimized conditions by using terminally functionalized C4-C11 fatty primary alcohols bearing halogen, alkyne, amino, hydroxy, thiol, and nitrile groups.

Amination of non-activated aliphatic fatty alcohols to the corresponding primary amines was achieved through a five-enzyme cascade reaction by coupling a long-chain alcohol oxidase from Aspergillus fumigatus (LCAO_Af) with a ω-transaminase from Chromobacterium violaceum (ω-TA_Cv). The alcohol was oxidized at the expense of molecular oxygen to yield the corresponding aldehyde, which was subsequently aminated by the PLP-dependent ω-TA to yield the final primary amine product. The overall cascade was optimized with respect to pH, O2 pressure, substrate concentration, decomposition of H2O2 (derived from alcohol oxidation), NADH regeneration, and biocatalyst ratio. The substrate scope of this concept was investigated under optimized conditions by using terminally functionalized C4–C11 fatty primary alcohols bearing halogen, alkyne, amino, hydroxy, thiol, and nitrile groups.