Volume 137, Issue 9 e202423507
Zuschrift

Enantioselective Trifluoromethylazidation of Styrenyl Olefins Catalyzed by an Engineered Nonheme Iron Enzyme

Hua He

Hua He

Key Laboratory of Drug-Targeting and Drug Delivery System of the Education Ministry and Sichuan Province, Sichuan Engineering Laboratory for Plant-Sourced Drug and Sichuan Research Center for Drug Precision Industrial Technology, Department of Biopharmaceutics, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Children's Medicine Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

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Jia-Xin Yan

Jia-Xin Yan

Key Laboratory of Drug-Targeting and Drug Delivery System of the Education Ministry and Sichuan Province, Sichuan Engineering Laboratory for Plant-Sourced Drug and Sichuan Research Center for Drug Precision Industrial Technology, Department of Biopharmaceutics, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Children's Medicine Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

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Jian-Xiang Zhu

Jian-Xiang Zhu

Key Laboratory of Drug-Targeting and Drug Delivery System of the Education Ministry and Sichuan Province, Sichuan Engineering Laboratory for Plant-Sourced Drug and Sichuan Research Center for Drug Precision Industrial Technology, Department of Biopharmaceutics, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Children's Medicine Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

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Si-Jia Liu

Si-Jia Liu

Key Laboratory of Drug-Targeting and Drug Delivery System of the Education Ministry and Sichuan Province, Sichuan Engineering Laboratory for Plant-Sourced Drug and Sichuan Research Center for Drug Precision Industrial Technology, Department of Biopharmaceutics, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Children's Medicine Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

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Xiao-Qi Liu

Xiao-Qi Liu

Key Laboratory of Drug-Targeting and Drug Delivery System of the Education Ministry and Sichuan Province, Sichuan Engineering Laboratory for Plant-Sourced Drug and Sichuan Research Center for Drug Precision Industrial Technology, Department of Biopharmaceutics, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Children's Medicine Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

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Dr. Peng Chen

Corresponding Author

Dr. Peng Chen

Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Children's Medicine Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

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Dr. Xin Wang

Corresponding Author

Dr. Xin Wang

Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Children's Medicine Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

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Prof. Dr. Zhi-Jun Jia

Corresponding Author

Prof. Dr. Zhi-Jun Jia

Key Laboratory of Drug-Targeting and Drug Delivery System of the Education Ministry and Sichuan Province, Sichuan Engineering Laboratory for Plant-Sourced Drug and Sichuan Research Center for Drug Precision Industrial Technology, Department of Biopharmaceutics, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Children's Medicine Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China

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First published: 23 January 2025

Abstract

Organofluorines, particularly those containing trifluoromethyl (CF3) groups, play a critical role in medicinal chemistry. While trifluoromethylation of alkenes provides a powerful synthetic route to construct CF3-containing compounds with broad structural and functional diversity, achieving enantioselective control in these reactions remains a formidable challenge. In this study, we engineered a nonheme iron enzyme, quercetin 2,3-dioxygenase from Bacillus subtilis (BsQueD), for the enantioselective trifluoromethylazidation of alkenes. Through directed evolution, the final variant BsQueD-CF3 exhibited excellent enantioselectivity, with an enantiomeric ratio (e.r.) of up to 98 : 2. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest the involvement of radical intermediates. This work expands biocatalytic organofluorine chemistry by reprogramming metalloenzymes for innovative trifluoromethylation reactions.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Supporting Information of this article.

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