Transaminase Triggered Aza-Michael Approach for the Enantioselective Synthesis of Piperidine Scaffolds

J Am Chem Soc. 2016 Dec 14;138(49):15798-15800. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b07024. Epub 2016 Nov 23.

Abstract

The expanding "toolbox" of biocatalysts opens new opportunities to redesign synthetic strategies to target molecules by incorporating a key enzymatic step into the synthesis. Herein, we describe a general biocatalytic approach for the enantioselective preparation of 2,6-disubstituted piperidines starting from easily accessible pro-chiral ketoenones. The strategy represents a new biocatalytic disconnection, which relies on an ω-TA-mediated aza-Michael reaction. Significantly, we show that the reversible enzymatic process can power the shuttling of amine functionality across a molecular framework, providing access to the desired aza-Michael products.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't