1 publication

1 publication

Nitrene Transfer Catalyzed by a Non-Heme Iron Enzyme and Enhanced by Non-Native Small-Molecule Ligands

Arnold, F.H.

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 19585-19588, 10.1021/jacs.9b11608

Transition-metal catalysis is a powerful tool for the construction of chemical bonds. Here we show that Pseudomonas savastanoi ethylene-forming enzyme, a non-heme iron enzyme, can catalyze olefin aziridination and nitrene C−H insertion, and that these activities can be improved by directed evolution. The nonheme iron center allows for facile modification of the primary coordination sphere by addition of metalcoordinating molecules, enabling control over enzyme activity and selectivity using small molecules.


Metal: Fe
Ligand type: Amino acid
Anchoring strategy: Native
Optimization: Genetic
Reaction: C-H amination
Max TON: 730
ee: 61
PDB: 6CBA
Notes: Additional reaction: aziridination