Multifunctional biocatalyst for conjugate reduction and reductive amination.

Chiral amine diastereomers are ubiquitous in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals1, yet their preparation often relies on low-efficiency multi-step synthesis2. These valuable compounds must be manufactured asymmetrically, as their biochemical properties can differ based on the chirality of the molecule. Herein we characterize a multifunctional biocatalyst for amine synthesis, which operates using a mechanism that is, to our knowledge, previously unreported. This enzyme (EneIRED), identified within a metagenomic imine reductase (IRED) collection3 and originating from an unclassified Pseudomonas species, possesses an unusual active site architecture that facilitates amine-activated conjugate alkene reduction followed by reductive amination. This enzyme can couple a broad selection of α,ß-unsaturated carbonyls with amines for the efficient preparation of chiral amine diastereomers bearing up to three stereocentres. Mechanistic and structural studies have been carried out to delineate the order of individual steps catalysed by EneIRED, which have led to a proposal for the overall catalytic cycle. This work shows that the IRED family can serve as a platform for facilitating the discovery of further enzymatic activities for application in synthetic biology and organic synthesis.

Synthesis of Stereoenriched Piperidines via Chemo-Enzymatic Dearomatization of Activated Pyridines.

The development of efficient and sustainable methods for the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles is an important goal for the chemical industry. In particular, substituted chiral piperidines are prominent targets due to their prevalence in medicinally relevant compounds and their precursors. A potential biocatalytic approach to the synthesis of this privileged scaffold would be the asymmetric dearomatization of readily assembled activated pyridines. However, nature is yet to yield a suitable biocatalyst specifically for this reaction. Here, by combining chemical synthesis and biocatalysis, we present a general chemo-enzymatic approach for the asymmetric dearomatization of activated pyridines for the preparation of substituted piperidines with precise stereochemistry. The key step involves a stereoselective one-pot amine oxidase/ene imine reductase cascade to convert N-substituted tetrahydropyridines to stereo-defined 3- and 3,4-substituted piperidines. This chemo-enzymatic approach has proved useful for key transformations in the syntheses of antipsychotic drugs Preclamol and OSU-6162, as well as for the preparation of two important intermediates in synthetic routes of the ovarian cancer monotherapeutic Niraparib.

Synthesis of Pharmaceutically Relevant 2-Aminotetralin and 3-Aminochroman Derivatives via Enzymatic Reductive Amination.

2-Aminotetralin and 3-aminochroman derivatives are key structural motifs present in a wide range of pharmaceutically important molecules. Herein, we report an effective biocatalytic approach towards these molecules through the enantioselective reductive coupling of 2-tetralones and 3-chromanones with a diverse range of primary amine partners. Metagenomic imine reductases (IREDs) were employed as the biocatalysts, obtaining high yields and enantiocomplementary selectivity for >15 examples at preparative scale, including the precursors to Ebalzotan, Robalzotan, Alnespirone and 5-OH-DPAT. We also present a convergent chemo-enzymatic total synthesis of the Parkinson's disease therapy Rotigotine in 63 % overall yield and 92 % ee.