Here, we focused on a simple enzymatic epoxidation of alkenes using lipase and phenylacetic acid. The immobilised Candida antarctica lipase B, Novozym 435 was used to catalyse the formation of peroxy acid instantly from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and phenylacetic acid. The peroxy phenylacetic acid generated was then utilised directly for in situ oxidation of alkenes. A variety of alkenes were oxidised with this system, resulting in 75-99% yield of the respective epoxides. On the other hand, the phenylacetic acid was recovered from the reaction media and reused for more epoxidation. Interestingly, the waste phenylacetic acid had the ability to be reused for epoxidation of the 1-nonene to 1-nonene oxide, giving an excellent yield of 90%.
Herein, an efficient epoxidation of 1-nonene is described. In a simple epoxidation system, commercially available Novozym 435, an immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B, and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) were utilized to facilitate the in situ oxidation of phenylacetic acid to the corresponding peroxy acid which then reacted with 1-nonene to give 1-nonene oxide with high yield and selectivity. The aliphatic terminal alkene was epoxidised efficiently in chloroform to give an excellent yield (97%-99%) under the optimum reaction conditions, including temperature (35 °C), initial H(2)O(2) concentration (30%), H(2)O(2) amount (4.4 mmol), H(2)O(2) addition rate (one step), acid amount (8.8 mmol), and stirring speed (250 rpm). Interestingly, the enzyme was stable under the single-step addition of H(2)O(2) with a catalytic activity of 190.0 Ug-1. The entire epoxidation process was carried out within 12 h using a conventional water bath shaker.
The first enantioselective synthesis of (-)-conolutinine was achieved in 10 steps. The synthesis featured a catalytic asymmetric bromocyclization of tryptamine to forge the tricycle intermediate. Hydration of an alkene catalyzed by Co(acac)2 was also employed as a key step to diastereoselectively introduce the tertiary alcohol moiety. The absolute configuration of (-)-conolutinine was established to be (2S,5aS,8aS,13aR) based on this asymmetric total synthesis.
Successful activation of the pyranonigrin biosynthetic gene cluster and gene knockout in Aspergillus niger plus in vivo and in vitro assays led to isolation of six new products, including a spiro cyclobutane-containing dimeric compound, which served as the basis for the proposed comprehensive pyranonigrin biosynthetic pathway. Two redox enzymes are key to forming the characteristic fused γ-pyrone core, and a protease homologue performs the exo-methylene formation.