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Updated: Sep 11, 2025

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
ThDP-dependent enzyme catalyzed oxidation of aldehydes
Xiaoyang Chen1, Meiting Zhou1,2, Xinyu Duan3
1Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, Zhejiang University of Technology Hangzhou 310014 China chenxychem@zjut.edu.cn chuxhe@zjut.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Natural thiamine diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzymes are frequently utilized to catalyze the decarboxylation of β-keto acids and the benzoin condensation of aldehydes. Herein, we present a ThDP-dependent enzymatic oxidation of aldehydes mediated by sequential single electron transfer (SET) processes, utilizing hexachloroethane (C2Cl6) as the oxidant. The reaction exhibits high efficiency (yield up to 99% and turnover number up to 2000) and achieves effective stereoselective control for dynamic kinetic resolutions (e.e. up to 99%). This study uncovers a previously undiscovered capability of ThDP-dependent enzymes, thus broadening the functional repertoire of this enzyme class.
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