McNaughton, B.R.; Rovis, T.

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 4815-4819, 10.1021/jacs.9b01596

Reliable design of artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) to access transformations not observed in nature remains a long-standing and important challenge. We report that a monomeric streptavidin (mSav) Rh(III) ArM permits asymmetric synthesis of α,β-unsaturated-δ-lactams via a tandem C–H activation and [4+2] annulation reaction. These products are readily derivatized to enantioenriched piperidines, the most common N-heterocycle found in FDA approved pharmaceuticals. Desired δ-lactams are achieved in yields as high as 99% and enantiomeric excess of 97% under aqueous conditions at room temperature. Embedding a Rh cyclopentadienyl (Cp*) catalyst in the active site of mSav results in improved stereocontrol and a 7-fold enhancement in reactivity relative to the isolated biotinylated Rh(III) cofactor. In addition, mSav-Rh outperforms its well-established tetrameric forms, displaying 11–33 times more reactivity.

Chen, Y.; Wang, C.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 3444-3449, 10.1002/anie.201912962

The diverse secondary structures of nucleic acids are emerging as attractive chiral scaffolds to construct artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) for enantioselective catalysis. DNA‐based ArMs containing duplex and G‐quadruplex scaffolds have been widely investigated, yet RNA‐based ArMs are scarce. Here we report that a cyclic dinucleotide of c‐di‐AMP and Cu2+ ions assemble into an artificial metalloribozyme (c‐di‐AMP⋅Cu2+) that enables catalysis of enantioselective Friedel–Crafts reactions in aqueous media with high reactivity and excellent enantioselectivity of up to 97 % ee. The assembly of c‐di‐AMP⋅Cu2+ gives rise to a 20‐fold rate acceleration compared to Cu2+ ions. Based on various biophysical techniques and density function theory (DFT) calculations, a fine coordination structure of c‐di‐AMP⋅Cu2+ metalloribozyme is suggested in which two c‐di‐AMP form a dimer scaffold and the Cu2+ ion is located in the center of an adenine‐adenine plane through binding to two N7 nitrogen atoms and one phosphate oxygen atom.