Single-Electron Oxidation-Initiated Enantioselective Hydrosulfonylation of Olefins Enabled by Photoenzymatic Catalysis

J Am Chem Soc. 2024 Jan 31;146(4):2748-2756. doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c12513. Epub 2024 Jan 12.

Abstract

Controlling the enantioselectivity of hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reactions has been a long-standing synthetic challenge. While recent advances on photoenzymatic catalysis have demonstrated the great potential of non-natural photoenzymes, all of the transformations are initiated by single-electron reduction of the substrate, with only one notable exception. Herein, we report an oxidation-initiated photoenzymatic enantioselective hydrosulfonylation of olefins using a novel mutant of gluconobacter ene-reductase (GluER-W100F-W342F). Compared to known photoenzymatic systems, our approach does not rely on the formation of an electron donor-acceptor complex between the substrates and enzyme cofactor and simplifies the reaction system by obviating the addition of a cofactor regeneration mixture. More importantly, the GluER variant exhibits high reactivity and enantioselectivity and a broad substrate scope. Mechanistic studies support the proposed oxidation-initiated mechanism and reveal that a tyrosine-mediated HAT process is involved.

MeSH terms

  • Alkenes*
  • Catalysis
  • Electrons*
  • Hydrogen
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Stereoisomerism

Substances

  • Alkenes
  • Hydrogen