Selective oxyfunctionalisation reactions catalysed by P450 monooxygenases and peroxygenases – A bright future for sustainable chemical synthesis

Heme-dependent oxygenases (i.e. P450 monooxygenases and peroxygenases) are highly selective catalysts for the selective oxyfunctionalisation or organic compounds. Both enzyme classes exhibit mechanistic similarities (i.e. using so-called compound I (CpdI) as active oxidation species) and differences in how CpdI is formed. From the differences...

Two (Chemo)-enzymatic cascades for the production of opposite enantiomers of chiral azidoalcohols

Multi-step cascade reactions have gained increasing attention in the biocatalysis field in recent years. In particular, multi-enzymatic cascades can achieve high molecular complexity without workup of reaction intermediates thanks to the enzymes’ intrinsic selectivity; and where enzymes fall short, organo-or metal catalysts can further expand...

Flavoenzyme-mediated Regioselective Aromatic Hydroxylation with Coenzyme Biomimetics

Regioselective aromatic hydroxylation is desirable for the production of valuable compounds. External flavin-containing monooxygenases activate and selectively incorporate an oxygen atom in phenolic compounds through flavin reduction by the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide coenzyme, and subsequent reaction with molecular oxygen. This study...

Flavin-dependent N-hydroxylating enzymes: Distribution and application

Amino groups derived from naturally abundant amino acids or (di)amines can be used as “shuttles” in nature for oxygen transfer to provide intermediates or products comprising N-O functional groups such as N-hydroxy, oxazine, isoxazolidine, nitro, nitrone, oxime, C-, S-, or N-nitroso, and azoxy units. To this end, molecular oxygen is activated...

Oxidoreductases on their way to industrial biotransformations

Fungi produce heme-containing peroxidases and peroxygenases, flavin-containing oxidases and dehydrogenases, and different copper-containing oxidoreductases involved in the biodegradation of lignin and other recalcitrant compounds. Heme peroxidases comprise the classical ligninolytic peroxidases and the new dye-decolorizing peroxidases, while...

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide-Dependent Redox-Neutral Convergent Cascade for Lactonizations with Type II Flavin-Containing Monooxygenase

A nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-dependent redox-neutral convergent cascade composed of a recently discovered type II flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO−E) and horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (HLADH) has been established. Two model reaction cascades were analyzed for the synthesis of γ-butyrolactone and chiral bicyclic lactones....

The Oxygen Dilemma: A Severe Challenge for the Application of Monooxygenases?

Monooxygenases are promising catalysts because they in principle enable the organic chemist to perform highly selective oxyfunctionalisation reactions that are otherwise difficult to achieve. For this, monooxygenases require reducing equivalents, to allow reductive activation of molecular oxygen at the enzymes' active sites. However, these...