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1. Dual-function enzyme catalysis for enantioselective carbon–nitrogen bond formation

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-021-00794-z  

   Liu, Zhen; Calvó-Tusell, Carla; Zhou, Andrew Z.; Chen, Kai; Garcia-Borràs, Marc; Arnold, Frances H. (October 2021, Nature Chemistry)

   null (Ed.)

   Chiral amines can be made by insertion of a carbene into an N–H bond using two-catalyst systems that combine a transition metal-based carbene-transfer catalyst and a chiral proton-transfer catalyst to enforce stereocontrol. Haem proteins can effect carbene N–H insertion, but asymmetric protonation in an active site replete with proton sources is challenging. Here we describe engineered cytochrome P450 enzymes that catalyse carbene N–H insertion to prepare biologically relevant α-amino lactones with high activity and enantioselectivity (up to 32,100 total turnovers, >99% yield and 98% e.e.). These enzymes serve as dual-function catalysts, inducing carbene transfer and promoting the subsequent proton transfer with excellent stereoselectivity in a single active site. Computational studies uncover the detailed mechanism of this new-to-nature enzymatic reaction and explain how active-site residues accelerate this transformation and provide stereocontrol. 

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2. Reversing the Enantioselectivity of Enzymatic Carbene N−H Insertion Through Mechanism‐Guided Protein Engineering**

   https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202303879  

   Calvó‐Tusell, Carla; Liu, Zhen; Chen, Kai; Arnold, Frances H.; Garcia‐Borràs, Marc (July 2023, Angewandte Chemie International Edition)

   Abstract We report a computationally driven approach to access enantiodivergent enzymatic carbene N−H insertions catalyzed by P411 enzymes. Computational modeling was employed to rationally guide engineering efforts to control the accessible conformations of a key lactone‐carbene (LAC) intermediate in the enzyme active site by installing a new H‐bond anchoring point. This H‐bonding interaction controls the relative orientation of the reactive carbene intermediate, orienting it for an enantioselectiveN‐nucleophilic attack by the amine substrate. By combining MD simulations and site‐saturation mutagenesis and screening targeted to only two key residues, we were able to reverse the stereoselectivity of previously engineeredS‐selective P411 enzymes. The resulting variant,L5_FL‐B3, accepts a broad scope of amine substrates for N−H insertion with excellent yields (up to >99 %), high efficiency (up to 12 300 TTN), and good enantiocontrol (up to 7 : 93er). 

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3. Preferential N–H⋯:C hydrogen bonding involving ditopic NH -containing systems and N -heterocyclic carbenes

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ra08490e  

   Kinney, Zacharias J.; Rheingold, Arnold L.; Protasiewicz, John D. (November 2020, RSC Advances)

   null (Ed.)

   Hydrogen bonding plays a critical role in maintaining order and structure in complex biological and synthetic systems. N -heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) represent one of the most versatile tools in the synthetic chemistry toolbox, yet their potential as neutral carbon hydrogen bond acceptors remains underexplored. This report investigates this capability in a strategic manner, wherein carbene-based hydrogen bonding can be assessed by use of ditopic NH -containing molecules. N–H bonds are unique as there are three established reaction modes with carbenes: non-traditional hydrogen bonding adducts (X–H⋯:C), salts arising from proton transfer ([H–C] + [X] − ), or amines from insertion of the carbene into the N–H bond. Yet, there are no established rules to predict product distributions or the strength of these associations. Here we seek to correlate the hydrogen bond strength of symmetric and asymmetric ditopic secondary amines with 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene ( IPr , a representative NHC). In symmetric and asymmetric ditopic amine adducts both the solid-state (hydrogen bond lengths, NHC interior angles) and solution-state ( 1 H Δ δ of NH signals, 13 C signals of carbenic carbon) can be related to the p K a of the parent amine. 

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4. Highly stereoselective and enantiodivergent synthesis of cyclopropylphosphonates with engineered carbene transferases

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d2sc01965e  

   Ren, Xinkun; Chandgude, Ajay L.; Carminati, Daniela M.; Shen, Zhuofan; Khare, Sagar D.; Fasan, Rudi (July 2022, Chemical Science)

   Organophosphonate compounds have represented a rich source of biologically active compounds, including enzyme inhibitors, antibiotics, and antimalarial agents. Here, we report the development of a highly stereoselective strategy for olefin cyclopropanation in the presence of a phosphonyl diazo reagent as carbene precursor. In combination with a ‘substrate walking’ protein engineering strategy, two sets of efficient and enantiodivergent myoglobin-based biocatalysts were developed for the synthesis of both (1 R ,2 S ) and (1 S ,2 R ) enantiomeric forms of the desired cyclopropylphosphonate ester products. This methodology enables the efficient transformation of a broad range of vinylarene substrates at a preparative scale ( i.e. gram scale) with up to 99% de and ee. Mechanistic studies provide insights into factors that contribute to make this reaction inherently more challenging than hemoprotein-catalyzed olefin cyclopropanation with ethyl diazoacetate investigated previously. This work expands the range of synthetically useful, enzyme-catalyzed transformations and paves the way to the development of metalloprotein catalysts for abiological carbene transfer reactions involving non-canonical carbene donor reagents. 

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5. Highly Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Synthesis of Nitrile‐Substituted Cyclopropanes by Myoglobin‐Mediated Carbene Transfer Catalysis

   https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201810059  

   Chandgude, Ajay L.; Fasan, Rudi (November 2018, Angewandte Chemie International Edition)

   Abstract A chemobiocatalytic strategy for the highly stereoselective synthesis of nitrile‐substituted cyclopropanes is reported. The present approach relies on an asymmetric olefin cyclopropanation reaction catalyzed by an engineered myoglobin in the presence of ex situ generated diazoacetonitrile within a compartmentalized reaction system. This method enabled the efficient transformation of a broad range of olefin substrates at a preparative scale with up to 99.9 % de and ee and up to 5600 turnovers. The enzymatic product could be further elaborated to afford a variety of functionalized chiral cyclopropanes. This work expands the range of synthetically valuable, abiotic transformations accessible through biocatalysis and paves the way to the practical and safe exploitation of diazoacetonitrile in biocatalytic carbene transfer reactions. 

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