Bioorganometallic chemistry: Co-factor regeneration, enzyme recognition of biomimetic 1,4-NADH analogs, and organic synthesis; tandem catalyzed regioselective formation of N-substituted-1,4-dihydronicotinamide derivatives with [Cp*Rh(bpy)H]+, coupled to chiral S-alcohol formation with HLADH, and engineered cytochrome P450s, for selective C-H oxidation reactions

Abstract Two novel tandem catalysis approaches for the chiral synthesis of S-alcohols from reduction of their prochiral ketones with Horse Liver Alcohol Dehydrogenase (HLADH), and selective C-H oxidation reactions with protein engineered Cytochrome P450s, are presented. We utilized a co-factor regeneration procedure with three biomimetic NAD+ models that do not contain the pyrophosphate, nor the adenosine group, and either/or a ribose, N-1-benzylnicotinamide triflate, 1, N-4-methoxybenzylnicotinamide triflate, 2, and β-nicotinamide-5′-ribose methyl phosphate, 3, in conjunction with in situ formed [Cp*Rh(bpy)H]+ from [Cp*Rh(bpy)(H2O)]2+ (Cp* = η5-C5Me5, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridyl) and the hydride source, sodium formate, to regioselectively provide their 1,4-NADH analogs, N-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide, 4, N-4-methoxybenzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide, 5, and 1,4-dihydronicotinamide-5′-ribose methylphosphate, 6. Surprisingly, the 1,4-NADH biomimics, 4 and 6, were recognized, in the second tandem catalysis approach, by the natural 1,4-NADH dependent enzyme, HLADH, for catalyzed, highly enantioselective conversions of prochiral ketones to chiral S-alcohols. For example, with phenethylmethyl ketone and benzylmethyl ketone, the corresponding chiral alcohols were formed in >93% ee (S-enantiomer). Thus, 1,4-NADH biomimetic model recognition by HLADH does not significantly depend on the presence of the ribose, pyrophosphate, or adenosine groups to provide chiral products. We will also propose a plausible active site (HLADH)Zn-H intermediate, generated via a hydride transfer from bound 4/6 to Zn, for the enzymatic reduction of prochiral aryl/alkyl ketones to their chiral aryl/alkyl S-alcohols. Furthermore, the use of protein engineered cytochrome P450 enzymes provided improved molecular recognition of the above mentioned 1,4-NADH biomimetic co-factors, 4 and 5, for selective C-H oxidation reactions. For example, 1,4-NADH dependent mutants of natural 1,4-NAD(P)H dependent P450 BM-3 and 1,4-NADH dependent P450 CAM, with biomimetic co-factors 4 and 5, provided selective oxidation of p-nitrophenoxydecanoic acid to ω-oxydecanocarboxylic acid and p-nitrophenol, via C-H hydroxylation and β-hydrogen elimination, while oxidation of camphor provided hydroxycamphor, respectively. We will discuss the various parameters that effect molecular recognition of the biomimics, including protein engineering of both P450 BM-3 and P450 CAM enzymes, while determining the effect of the co-factor regeneration procedure on HLADH and P450 enzyme activity. These important observations have created new paradigms for the synthesis of organic compounds of interest, with the economically more favorable biomimics of NAD+, 1,4-NADH, and 1,4-NAD(P)H as co-factors, in tandem with the use of [Cp*Rh(bpy)(H)]+ as a regioselective catalytic reagent for co-factor regeneration.