Enantioselectivity of epoxide hydrolase catalysed oxirane ring opening: a 3D QSAR study

A 3D QSAR analysis (quantitative structure activity relationships) of a set of 2,2-disubstituted epoxides, substrates for epoxide hydrolases originating from four different organisms, was conducted by CoMFA (comparative molecular field analysis) and CoMSIA (comparative molecular similarity indices analysis), with respect to the enantioselective ring opening to the corresponding vicinal diol. Structural variations of the substrates include alkyl chains of different lengths, unsaturated moieties ((E)- and (Z)-alkenyl, alkinyl, aryl) and electronegative groups (ether oxygens, halogen atoms) at different locations within the 2-substituent group. Generally, all four organisms, namely Rhodococcus ruber NCIMB 11216, Rhodococcus ruber DSM 43338, Rhodococcus ruber DSM 44540 and Rhodococcus ruber DSM 44539, preferentially react with the (S)-enantiomer of the epoxide. Enantioselectivities (enantiomeric ratio, In E values) show a rather large variation, ranging from almost no (ln E < 1) to nearly complete selectivity (In E > 5.3). In addition, the response of the epoxide hydrolases stemming from the four organisms towards structural modifications of the substrate is different. Models for the enantioselectivity (enantiomeric ratio, ln E values) obtained by CoMFA and CoMSIA are of different but reasonable predictive power, e.g., q2CV = 0.701 and r2 = 0.937 for the CoMFA model of Rhodococcus ruber DSM 43338. Enantiomeric ratios for the test molecules can be well predicted. Plots of steric and electrostatic CoMFA (CoMSIA) fields allow conclusions to be drawn for the choice of the most suitable organism for a specific type of substrate.