Volume 64, Issue 24 e202505252
Communication

An Enzymatic Platform for Aniline Synthesis Through Oxidative Amination

Xiang Zhao

Xiang Zhao

College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China

National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, 102206 China

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Zhen Liu

Corresponding Author

Zhen Liu

National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, 102206 China

Tsinghua Institute of Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 102206 China

E-mail: [email protected]

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First published: 07 April 2025

Graphical Abstract

A biocatalytic platform for aniline synthesis, based on the oxidative amination of readily available cyclohexanones, has been reported. Engineered variants exhibit broad substrate compatibility, enabling the synthesis of 40 structurally diverse secondary and tertiary anilines with conversions of up to 91%. Mechanistic studies revealed that directed evolution enhanced enzyme performance in imine desaturation while suppressing phenol formation.

Abstract

Aniline motifs are commonly found in natural products and synthetic molecules. While chemists have developed numerous methods for constructing C(sp2)─N bonds, their biocatalytic counterparts in nature are primarily limited to P450-based protein machineries. To address this limitation, we developed a biocatalytic platform for aniline synthesis based on oxidative amination of cyclohexanones. Through directed evolution of a flavin-dependent enzyme PtOYE, we identified several protein catalysts (e.g., OYE_G3 and OYE_M3) that exhibited activity across a broad array of substrates, enabling the preparation of 40 different secondary and tertiary anilines with various substitution patterns in up to 91% GC conversion. Mechanistic investigations revealed the improved kinetic performance of the evolved variants on the desaturation of imines. Additionally, mutations introduced through protein engineering further reduced the propensity for phenol formation. This enzymatic platform represents a highly promising application of flavin-dependent enzymes, showcasing their great potential in organic synthesis and drug development.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

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