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Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Enzymatic Cascade Reactions for the Synthesis of Chiral Amino Alcohols from L-lysine
Published on: February 16, 2018
A Promiscuous De Novo Retro-Aldolase Catalyzes Asymmetric Michael Additions via Schiff Base Intermediates
Xavier Garrabou1, Tobias Beck, Donald Hilvert
1Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland); Instituto de Química Avanzada de Cataluña-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona (Spain).
Abstract:
Recent advances in computational design have enabled the development of primitive enzymes for a range of mechanistically distinct reactions. Here we show that the rudimentary active sites of these catalysts can give rise to useful chemical promiscuity. Specifically, RA95.5-8, designed and evolved as a retro-aldolase, also promotes asymmetric Michael additions of carbanions to unsaturated ketones with high rates and selectivities. The reactions proceed by amine catalysis, as indicated by mutagenesis and X-ray data. The inherent flexibility and tunability of this catalyst should make it a versatile platform for further optimization and/or mechanistic diversification by directed evolution.
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