Structure-Guided Regulation in the Enantioselectivity of an Epoxide Hydrolase to Produce Enantiomeric Monosubstituted Epoxides and Vicinal Diols via Kinetic Resolution

Org Lett. 2022 Mar 11;24(9):1757-1761. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.1c04348. Epub 2022 Mar 1.

Abstract

Structure-guided microtuning of an Aspergillus usamii epoxide hydrolase was executed. One mutant, A214C/A250I, displayed a 12.6-fold enhanced enantiomeric ratio (E = 202) toward rac-styrene oxide, achieving its nearly perfect kinetic resolution at 0.8 M in pure water or 1.6 M in n-hexanol/water. Several other beneficial mutants also displayed significantly improved E values, offering promising biocatalysts to access 19 structurally diverse chiral monosubstituted epoxides (97.1 - ≥ 99% ees) and vicinal diols (56.2-98.0% eep) with high yields.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Epoxide Hydrolases* / metabolism
  • Epoxy Compounds*
  • Kinetics
  • Stereoisomerism
  • Water

Substances

  • Epoxy Compounds
  • Water
  • Epoxide Hydrolases