Bacterial Transformation of Adamantane and Its Derivatives: Regioselectivity and Biocatalytic Approaches

Adamantane is a unique tricyclic hydrocarbon with a rigid, diamond-like structure. It is widely distributed in natural hydrocarbons and has significant potential applications in medicine, materials science, and pharmaceuticals. Despite its high chemical stability, biocatalytic methods using cytochrome P450 enzymes and microorganisms, such as Pseudomonas strains and actinobacteria, demonstrate high regional specificity in the hydroxylation and modification of adamantane, primarily at tertiary C-H bonds. This review summarises the latest data on the mechanisms and pathways of the microbial transformation of adamantane and its derivatives, including the key metabolites and enzymatic systems involved. The advantages of biocatalysis-namely, high selectivity, environmental friendliness and mild reaction conditions-are highlighted as a promising approach to the synthesis of functional adamantane derivatives for use in the development of innovative drugs and materials. The limitations of current methods and prospects for development are also discussed, including searching for new microorganisms and regulating enzymatic activity to increase the efficiency of biotransformation.