Nitroxyl peptides as catalysts of enantioselective oxidations

The achiral, nitroxyl-containing alpha-amino acid TOAC (TOAC = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl-4-amino-4-carboxylic acid), in combination with the chiral alpha-amino acid C(alpha)-methyl valine [(alphaMe)Val], was used to prepare short peptides (from di- to hexa-) that induced the enantioselective oxidation of racemic 1-phenylethanol to acetophenone. The best catalyst was an N(alpha)-acylated dipeptide alkylamide with the -TOAC-(alphaMe)Val- sequence folded in a stable, intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded beta-turn conformation with large, lipophilic (hydrophobic) N- and C-terminal blocking groups. We rationalized our findings by proposing models for the diastereomeric intermediates between (R)-[and (S)]-1-phenylethanol and the catalyst Fmoc-TOAC-L-(alphaMe)Val-NHiPr, based on the X-ray diffraction structure of the latter.