Volume 136, Issue 48 e202410260
Forschungsartikel

One-Pot Biocatalytic Conversion of Chemically Inert Hydrocarbons into Chiral Amino Acids through Internal Cofactor and H2O2 Recycling

Aiwen Wang

Aiwen Wang

State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237 China

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Yongze Wang

Yongze Wang

State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237 China

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Yuanxiang You

Yuanxiang You

State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237 China

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Zhiqing Huang

Zhiqing Huang

State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237 China

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Dr. Xingwang Zhang

Dr. Xingwang Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237 China

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Prof. Shengying Li

Corresponding Author

Prof. Shengying Li

State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237 China

Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, 266237 China

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Prof. Hui Chen

Corresponding Author

Prof. Hui Chen

State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237 China

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First published: 26 August 2024

Abstract

Chemically inert hydrocarbons are the primary feedstocks used in the petrochemical industry and can be converted into more intricate and valuable chemicals. However, two major challenges impede this conversion process: selective activation of C−H bonds in hydrocarbons and systematic functionalization required to synthesize complex structures. To address these issues, we developed a multi-enzyme cascade conversion system based on internal cofactor and H2O2 recycling to achieve the one-pot deep conversion from heptane to chiral (S)-2-aminoheptanoic acid under mild conditions. First, a hydrogen-borrowing-cycle-based NADH regeneration method and H2O2 in situ generation and consumption strategy were applied to realize selective C−H bond oxyfunctionalization, converting heptane into 2-hydroxyheptanoic acid. Integrating subsequent reductive amination driven by the second hydrogen-borrowing cycle, (S)-2-aminoheptanoic acid was finally accumulated at 4.57 mM with eep>99 %. Hexane, octane, 2-methylheptane, and butylbenzene were also successfully converted into the corresponding chiral amino acids with eep>99 %. Overall, the conversion system employed internal cofactor and H2O2 recycling, with O2 as the oxidant and ammonium as the amination reagent to fulfill the enzymatic conversion from chemically inert hydrocarbons into chiral amino acids under environmentally friendly conditions, which is a highly challenging transformation in traditional organic synthesis.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

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

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