Enzymatic Nitrogen Insertion into Unactivated C-H Bonds

Selective functionalization of aliphatic C-H bonds, ubiquitous in molecular structures, could allow ready access to diverse chemical products. While enzymatic oxygenation of C-H bonds is well established, the analogous enzymatic nitrogen functionalization is still unknown; nature is reliant on preoxidized compounds for nitrogen incorporation. Likewise, synthetic methods for selective nitrogen derivatization of unbiased C-H bonds remain elusive. In this work, new-to-nature heme-containing nitrene transferases were used as starting points for the directed evolution of enzymes to selectively aminate and amidate unactivated C(sp³)-H sites. The desymmetrization of methyl- and ethylcyclohexane with divergent site selectivity is offered as demonstration. The evolved enzymes in these lineages are highly promiscuous and show activity toward a wide array of substrates, providing a foundation for further evolution of nitrene transferase function. Computational studies and kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) are consistent with a stepwise radical pathway involving an irreversible, enantiodetermining hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), followed by a lower-barrier diastereoselectivity-determining radical rebound step. In-enzyme molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reveal a predominantly hydrophobic pocket with favorable dispersion interactions with the substrate. By offering a direct path from saturated precursors, these enzymes present a new biochemical logic for accessing nitrogen-containing compounds.