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Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Enzymatic Cascade Reactions for the Synthesis of Chiral Amino Alcohols from L-lysine
Published on: February 16, 2018
Versatile Biocatalytic C(sp3 )-H Oxyfunctionalization for the Site- Selective and Stereodivergent Synthesis of α- and
Yingle Mao1, Weijie Zhang2, Zunyun Fu3
1Chemical Biology Research Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Science, 201203, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
C(sp3 )-H oxyfunctionalization, the insertion of an O-atom into C(sp3 )-H bonds, streamlines the synthesis of complex molecules from easily accessible precursors and represents one of the most challenging tasks in organic chemistry with regard to site and stereoselectivity. Biocatalytic C(sp3 )-H oxyfunctionalization has the potential to overcome limitations inherent to small-molecule-mediated approaches by delivering catalyst-controlled selectivity. Through enzyme repurposing and activity profiling of natural variants, we have developed a subfamily of α-ketoglutarate-dependent iron dioxygenases that catalyze the site- and stereodivergent oxyfunctionalization of secondary and tertiary C(sp3 )-H bonds, providing concise synthetic routes towards four types of 92 α- and β-hydroxy acids with high efficiency and selectivity. This method provides a biocatalytic approach for the production of valuable but synthetically challenging chiral hydroxy acid building blocks.
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