The direct enantioselective addition of water to unactivated alkenes could simplify the synthesis of chiral alcohols and solve a long-standing challenge in catalysis. Here we report that an engineered fatty acid hydratase can catalyze the asymmetric hydration of various terminal and internal alkenes. In the presence of a carboxylic acid decoy molecule for activation of the oleate hydratase from E. meningoseptica, asymmetric hydration of unactivated alkenes was achieved with up to 93 % conversion, excellent selectivity (>99 % ee, >95 % regioselectivity), and on a preparative scale.
Keywords: alkenes; asymmetric hydration; biocatalysis; decoy molecules; rational enzyme design.
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