Catalysis by amine oxidases in nonaqueous media

The synthetic potential of amine oxidases was examined in different reaction systems, ranging from aqueous solutions to organic solvents with low water content. Substantial conversion was achieved in biphasic systems, which eliminated the product inhibition observed in the aqueous system. The conversion was particularly high in the more hydrophobic solvents. The use of low water systems was studied using amine oxidase immobilized on celite and pre-equilibrated in a salt hydrate environment to reach a constant water activity. Addition of water in the solvent was shown to be unnecessary, with significant conversion being attained through the water supplied by pre-equilibration of the immobilized enzyme at a_w=0.55. The use of organic solvent-containing reaction systems thus presents a convenient method for oxidising poorly water-soluble amines using amine oxidases.     

低水有机介质中的酶催化

酶不仅能在水溶液里催化化学反应,而且能在有机介质中显示催化活性．其中低水溶剂体系对有机合成最为有利．文章就低水溶剂体系中影响酶催化的三要素（水、溶剂和载体）以及酶在该体系表现出来的一些特殊性质进行了讨论,并列举了低水溶剂体系中的酶催化在有机合成,化学分析,和高分子化学等方面的应用．     

Biphasic one-pot synthesis of two useful and separable compounds using nicotinamide cofactor-requiring enzymes: Syntheses of (S)-4-hydroxyhexanoate and its lactone

Several one-pot syntheses of two valuable and separable compounds in a biphasic system using nicotinamide cofactor-requiring enzymes are described. In this system, two synthetic reactions occur in the aqueous phase where the N AD or N ADP cofactor is recycled ≈ 1000 times, and the reduction product is extracted into the organic phase while the oxidation product is retained in the aqueous phase. The effective separation of products and elimination of product inhibition during the reaction makes the biphasic system practical for large-scale synthesis. Several chiral hydroxy compounds of synthetic value have been prepared. Manipulation of N AD-dependent enzymes in synthesis in water-immiscible organic solvent by entrapment of both enzyme and the cofactor in X AD-8 is described.     

Chemical Inactivation of Lipase in Organic Solvent: A Lipase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa TE3285 is More Like a Typical Serine Enzyme in an Organic Solvent than in Aqueous Media

A microbial lipase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa TE3285 was treated in anhydrous diisopropyl ether with three kinds of serine-reactive reagents, ethyl p-nitrophenyl methylphosphonate (ENMP), diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP), and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) to lose its catalytic activity for both transesterification in an organic solvent and ester hydrolysis in aqueous system. In contrast with the facile inactivation in an organic solvent, no or very slow inactivation was observed in an aqueous solution. The lipase was shown to behave more like a typical serine enzyme in an organic solvent than in aqueous solution with regard to the chemical inactivation by serine-reactive reagents. The unique behavior of the lipase in an organic solvent may be associated with inferfacial activation of the lipase, which is one of the most distinct characteristics of the lipase family, and the activiation of lipase could be induced by a hydrophobic interaction with an organic solvent.     

Oxidation of lignans and lignin model compounds by laccase in aqueous solvent systems

The stability and activity of the low redox potential Melanocarpus albomyces laccase (MaL) in various aqueous organic (acetone, ethanol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether) solvent systems was studied spectrophotometrically using 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (2,6-DMP) as substrate. In addition, reactivity of the enzyme with two lignans; matairesinol (MR) and 7-hydroxymatairesinol (HMR), was examined by oxygen consumption measurements in the most potential aqueous organic solvent systems. Polymerization of the lignans by MaL was verified by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Polymerization of the higher molecular weight lignin model compound, dehydrogenation polymers (DHPs), was studied by SEC. The solubilities of industrial softwood and hardwood kraft lignins were evaluated as parameters for investigation of enzymatic modification in aqueous organic solvent systems. The functioning of MaL in different aqueous organic media was excellent. Propylene glycol and diethylene glycol monomethyl ether were better solvents than ethanol or acetone in enzymatic oxidations. Even though they were the best solvents for enzyme oxidation, ethanol and propylene glycol were selected for further tests because of their different physicochemical properties. The results obtained in this study for the use of laccase-catalysed reactions in organic solvents to improve the efficiency of lignin oxidation may be exploited in several applications and areas in which the solubility of the reactants or products is a limiting factor.     

Enzymatic properties of polyethylene glycol-modified cholesterol esterase in organic solvents.

The solvent dependency and substrate specificity of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified cholesterol esterase (CEH) catalyzing cholesterol ester synthesis in organic solvents were studied. When cholesterol and linoleic acid were used as the substrates, PEG-modified CEH synthesized cholesterol linoleate only in water-immiscible organic solvents. Among some solvents capable of solubilizing all of the reaction components (PEG-modified CEH, cholesterol, and linoleic acid), chloroform was most suitable for enzymatic cholesterol linoleate synthesis, and the synthetic activity for cholesterol linoleate decreased in the order chloroform, benzene, toluene, and cyclohexane. PEG-modified CEH synthesized various cholesterol esters with significant substrate specificity. The substrate specificity for cholesterol ester synthesis in benzene was analogous to that for cholesterol ester hydrolysis in aqueous solution.     

The effects of reformulating buffer species and their concentrations on subtilisin-catalyzed optical resolution of racemic 1-phenylethylamine in 3-methyl-3-pentanol

For the optical resolution of racemic 1-phenylethylamine in 3-methyl-3-pentanol, subtilisin was reformulated by lyophilization with buffer salts. The amide synthesis activity of subtilisin in organic solvent was compared with the hydrolysis activity in aqueous buffer when different buffer species and their concentrations were used in lyophilization. The enzyme activity in organic solvent showed a different pattern from that of the hydrolysis depending upon the species and the concentrations of buffers. Morphology of the reformulated subtilisin was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The porosity of reformulated subtilisin particles increased up to the optimal buffer concentrations for the amide synthesis in organic solvent. Glassy looks and decrease in porosity developed at high (i.e. above the optimal) buffer concentrations appear to affect the decrease in the synthetic activity in organic media.     

Lipases as practical biocatalysts

Lipases are the most used enzymes in synthetic organic chemistry, catalyzing the hydrolysis of carboxylic acid esters in aqueous medium or the reverse reaction in organic solvents. Recent methodological advancements regarding practical factors affecting lipase activity and enantioselectivity are reviewed. Select practical examples concerning the use of lipases in the production of chiral intermediates are also highlighted.     

The activity of human CYP2D6 in low water organic solvents

P450 enzymes are of high interest for synthetic applications due to their ability to catalyze hydroxylation reactions at inactivated C-H bonds. The low solubility of many substrates in buffer, however, is limiting the applications of P450s. Our recent demonstration that the P450 enzymes CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 can function very well in biphasic solvent systems is one step towards overcoming this drawback, but is not practical when substrates or products are unstable in water, or with water-soluble products. An alternative strategy, which also facilitates enzyme recycling, is to directly resuspend lyophilized enzyme into nearly anhydrous organic solvents. Interestingly, we report here that CYP2D6 colyophilized with trehalose and suspended in n-decane shows higher activity than in aqueous buffer. This study demonstrates the unexpected high tolerance of CYP2D6 to some low water organic solvents and provides an alternative strategy to facilitate the use of this enzyme in synthesis.     

Computational protein design with electrostatic focusing: Experimental characterization of a conditionally folded helical domain with a reduced amino acid alphabet

Automated methodologies to design synthetic proteins from first principles use energy computations to estimate the ability of the sequences to adopt a targeted structure. This approach is still far from systematically producing native-like sequences, due, most likely, to inaccuracies when modeling the interactions between the protein and its aqueous environment. This is particularly challenging when engineering small protein domains (with less polar pair interactions than with the solvent). We have re-designed a three-helix bundle, domain B, using a fixed backbone and a four amino acid alphabet. We have enlarged the rotamer library with conformers that increase the weight of electrostatic interactions within the design process without altering the energy function used to compute the folding free energy. Our synthetic sequences show less than 15% similarity to any Swissprot sequence. We have characterized our sequences in different solvents using circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance. The targeted structure achieved is dependent on the solvent used. This method can be readily extended to larger domains. Our method will be useful for the engineering of proteins that become active only in a given solvent and for designing proteins in the context of hydrophobic solvents, an important fraction of the situations in the cell.     

Effects of the Reaction Conditions on the Enantio-Selective Esterification Using Candiada Cylindracea Lipase

Parameters influencing the synthetic activity and enantioselectivlty of the Candida cylindracea lipase were investigated. The test reaction was presented through the enantioselective esterification of 2—substituted propionic acids in organic solvents. It was found that both the activity and the enantioselectivity of the lipase could be most effectively influenced by solvent engineering. Since the solvent has a different effect on activity and enantioselectivity of the lipase, selection of the most suitable solvent or solvent mixture is an important optimization question.     

Asymmetric enzymatic oxidoreductions in organic solvents

It is now beyond doubt that enzymes can vigorously work even in neat organic solvents containing little or no water. Switching the enzymatic reaction medium from aqueous to nonaqueous can make previously problematic processes feasible through, for example, increased substrate solubility or diminished side reactions. Moreover, when placed in this highly unnatural milieu, enzymes exhibit new and potentially valuable properties, including greater stability, markedly altered selectivity that can be readily controlled by the solvent, and molecular memory. Consequently, novel synthetic and biotechnological opportunities ensue, as illustrated herein by those based on enzymatic oxidoreductions such as the asymmetric peroxidase-catalyzed sulfoxidation of organic sulfides.     

Preparation of giant liposomes

A method is described for the preparation of giant unilamellar lipid vesicles that are stable in electrolyte solution. In general, it involves dialysis of lipid and indifferent solute in a water-miscible organic solvent against an aqueous buffer. During dialysis the concentration of organic solvent decreases so that vesicles form under conditions where their internal contents are continuously hyperosmotic. Interlamellar attractive forces are neutralized, even between bilayer membranes with no net charge, and giant vesicles are generated in large numbers. The population is heterogeneous but most large vesicles have diameters between 10 and 100 μm. The method is simple. One procedure involves dialysis for a day or more of a methanol solution of phosphatidylcholine, supersaturated with methylglucoside, against an aqueous phase containing up to 1 M univalent electrolyte. The procedure is effective over a wide range of temperature and pH.     

Effects of the Reaction Conditions on the Enantio-Selective Esterification Using Candiada Cylindracea Lipase

Parameters influencing the synthetic activity and enantioselectivlty of the Candida cylindracea lipase were investigated. The test reaction was presented through the enantioselective esterification of 2—substituted propionic acids in organic solvents. It was found that both the activity and the enantioselectivity of the lipase could be most effectively influenced by solvent engineering. Since the solvent has a different effect on activity and enantioselectivity of the lipase, selection of the most suitable solvent or solvent mixture is an important optimization question.     

The determination of phospholipase D activity in emulsion systems

Although phospholipase D (PLD) is often used in emulsion systems consisting of buffer and a nonpolar organic solvent, most activity assays have been designed to work in purely aqueous milieu. Here a method is described for the determination of PLD activity in emulsion systems. The assay is based on the transphosphatidylation of phosphatidylcholine with 1-butanol in dichloromethane/buffer with the subsequent densitometric quantification of the products after their separation by HPTLC and staining with a CuSO4/H3PO4 reagent. The method is particularly appropriate for the determination of enzymes such as PLD from Streptomyces sp. that prefer the exchange of the head group in glycerophospholipids to their hydrolysis. Since the application of an organic solvent in the PLD assay allows the determination of the enzyme in analytes insoluble in aqueous media, the method can also be used to determine PLD activity in the presence of high concentrations of phospholipids.     

A theoretical study of glucose mutarotation in aqueous solution

In this work the mechanism of glucose mutarotation is investigated in aqueous solution considering the most likely pathways proposed from experimental work. Two mechanisms are studied. The first involves an intramolecular proton transfer as proposed by textbooks of organic chemistry, and the second uses one solvent water molecule to assist proton transfer. Both mechanisms are studied in the gas phase and in aqueous solution with the help of a polarizable continuum model, which is adopted to introduce the electrostatic nonspecific influence of bulk solvent. The structures are fully characterized through the calculation of the corresponding vibrational frequencies. The rate coefficients for each mechanism are calculated following transition-state theory in both the gas phase and in aqueous solution. Values computed for the water-assisted pathway in the continuum solvent agree best with the experimental results.     

有机溶剂可溶的超氧化物歧化酶的制备及其性质

本文报道用谷氨酸、十二醇、葡萄糖酸内酯合成了一种精脂（２Ｃ（１２）ＧＥ）,并制备了ＳＯＤ－糖脂复合体．所得的ＳＯＤ－糖脂复合体是脂溶性的而不是水溶性的,它在乙醇等有机溶剂中的活性比在水中高,而且存在一最适有机溶剂浓度。其对温度、ｐＨ、蛋白酶水解的稳定性比天然ＳＯＤ明显增强。     

Selective and facile cyclization of N-chloroacetylated peptides from the C4 domain of HIV Gp120 in LiCl/DMF solvent systems.

Lithium salts have been reported to mediate the solubilization of peptides in organic solvents in 1989 (Seebach, D., Thaler, A. & Beck, A. K. Helv. Chim. Acta 1989; 72, 857-867). The use of Li salts in an organic solvent to influence cyclization of a reactive peptide that only polymerizes in an aqueous solvent, has not been reported. Here, the selective and facile cyclization of N-chloroacetylated, C-cysteine amide peptides from the C4 domain of HIV-1 gp120 in LiCl/DMF solvent systems is demonstrated. The addition of stoichiometric amounts of Tris base to 1 mg/mL peptide in LiCl/DMF solutions was sufficient to drive the cyclization to completion within 3 h at ambient temperatures. Cyclic peptides were the only detectable reaction products and these were confirmed using reversed-phase HPLC and mass spectrometric analyses of the final products. In aqueous solutions at pH 7.4, only polymers were obtained as judged by HPLC and SDS-PAGE. The method of using Li salts in an organic solvent to enhance the cyclization of unprotected amphipathic peptides may be useful in many situations beyond those described here.     

Systematic Approach to Solvent Selection for Biphasic Systems with a Combination of COSMO‐RS and a Dynamic Modeling Tool

Biphasic aqueous‐organic systems are important reaction systems for catalytic processes. This is especially true for biocatalysis where the range of accessible products can be significantly extended. In such systems, the aqueous phase is the reactive phase in which the biocatalyst is dissolved and the organic phase is nonreactive and acts as substrate reservoir and as in situ product extraction solvent. Here, the choice of the nonreactive phase is highly important for the overall performance of the system. In this contribution, a systematic approach to solvent selection for biphasic aqueous‐organic systems is presented with respect to partition coefficients. The model reaction is the stereoselective carbon‐carbon coupling of two 3,5‐dimethoxy‐benzaldehyde molecules to (R)‐3,3',5,5'‐tetramethoxy‐benzoin catalyzed by benzaldehyde lyase (EC 4.1.2.38) from Pseudomonas fluorescens. A systematic approach to solvent selection consisting of two steps is proposed: Firstly, the conductor‐like screening model for real solvents (COSMO‐RS) is used to facilitate a fast solvent screening. Since this is an ab initio approach it allows a pre‐screening without laborious experimental input. The proposed ranking of solvents, based on the ratio of partition coefficients at infinite dilution, is a sound basis for the successive steps. Secondly, a dynamic model is fitted to experimental data in order to obtain detailed and reliable results for mass transfer and partition coefficients. Therefore, the method makes efficient use of the experimental data and substantiates quantitative results with guided experiments.     

Fast and simple anion-exchange chromatography for large-scale purification of self-complementary oligonucleotides.

A fast and simple anion-exchange chromatography method is described for large-scale purification of synthetic oligonucleotides. Using a single matrix and aqueous solvent system, the two-step chromatographic procedure can handle complex separation problems of self-complementary or G-rich sequences without the use of urea or formaldehyde. The work also demonstrates the complication encountered, possibly due to hairpin formation, in one of the oligomers.