Ward, T.R.

Org. Biomol. Chem. 2015, 13, 357-360, 10.1039/c4ob02071e

Stereoselectively labelled isotopomers of NAD(P)H are highly relevant for mechanistic studies of enzymes which utilize them as redox equivalents.

Harada, A.

Org. Biomol. Chem. 2006, 4, 3571, 10.1039/B609242J

Monoclonal antibodies have been elicited against an achiral rhodium complex and this complex was used in the presence of a resultant antibody, 1G8, for the catalytic hydrogenation of 2-acetamidoacrylic acid to produce N-acetyl-L-alanine in high (>98%) enantiomeric excess.

Ward, T.R.

Org. Biomol. Chem. 2015, 13, 5652-5655, 10.1039/c5ob00428d

We report an efficient artificial metathesase which combines an arylsulfonamide anchor within the protein scaffold human carbonic anhydrase II.

Salmain, M.

Org. Biomol. Chem. 2011, 9, 5720, 10.1039/c1ob05482a

Organometallic complexes of the general formula [(η6-arene)Ru(N⁁N)Cl]+ and [(η5-Cp*)Rh(N⁁N)Cl]+ where N⁁N is a 2,2′-dipyridylamine (DPA) derivative carrying a thiol-targeted maleimide group, 2,2′-bispyridyl (bpy), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) or ethylenediamine (en) and arene is benzene, 2-chloro-N-[2-(phenyl)ethyl]acetamide or p-cymene were identified as catalysts for the stereoselective reduction of the enzyme cofactors NAD(P)+ into NAD(P)H with formate as a hydride donor. A thorough comparison of their effectiveness towards NAD+ (expressed as TOF) revealed that the RhIII complexes were much more potent catalysts than the RuII complexes. Within the RuII complex series, both the N⁁N and arene ligands forming the coordination sphere had a noticeable influence on the activity of the complexes. Covalent anchoring of the maleimide-functionalized RuII and RhIII complexes to the cysteine endoproteinase papain yielded hybrid metalloproteins, some of them displaying formate dehydrogenase activity with potentially interesting kinetic parameters.

Ward, T.R.

Org. Biomol. Chem. 2007, 5, 1835, 10.1039/b702068f

Artificial metalloenzymes based on biotin–streptavidin technology, a “fusion” of chemistry and biology, illustrate how asymmetric catalysts can be improved and evolved using chemogenetic approaches.

Okuda, J.

Org. Biomol. Chem. 2016, 14, 9174-9183, 10.1039/C6OB01475E

The incorporation of organometallic catalyst precursors in proteins results in so-called artificial metalloenzymes. The protein structure will control activity, selectivity and stability of the organometallic site in aqueous medium and allow non-natural reactions in biological settings. Grubbs-Hoveyda type ruthenium catalysts with an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) as ancillary ligand, known to be active in olefin metathesis, have recently been incorporated in various proteins. An overview of these artificial metalloproteins and their potential application in olefin metathesis is given.

Mahy, J.-P.

Org. Biomol. Chem. 2009, 7, 3208, 10.1039/b907534h

Two new artificial hemoproteins or “hemozymes”, obtained by non covalent insertion of Fe(III)-meso-tetra-p-carboxy- and -p-sulfonato-phenylporphyrin into xylanase A from Streptomyces lividans, were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy and molecular modeling studies, and were found to catalyze the chemo- and stereoselective oxidation of thioanisole into the S sulfoxide, the best yield (85 ± 4%) and enantiomeric excess (40% ± 3%) being obtained with Fe(III)-meso-tetra-p-carboxyphenylporphyrin-Xln10A as catalyst in the presence of imidazole as co-catalyst.

Barker, P.D.; Boss, S.R.

Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev. 2020, 64, 407-418, 10.1595/205651320x15928204097766

Generation of artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) has gained much inspiration from the general understanding of natural metalloenzymes. Over the last decade, a multitude of methods generating transition metal-protein hybrids have been developed and many of these new-to-nature constructs catalyse reactions previously reserved for the realm of synthetic chemistry. This perspective will focus on ArMs incorporating 4d and 5d transition metals. It aims to summarise the significant advances made to date and asks whether there are chemical strategies, used in nature to optimise metal catalysts, that have yet to be fully recognised in the synthetic enzyme world, particularly whether artificial enzymes produced to date fully take advantage of the structural and energetic context provided by the protein. Further, the argument is put forward that, based on precedence, in the majority of naturally evolved metalloenzymes the direct coordination bonding between the metal and the protein scaffold is integral to catalysis. Therefore, the protein can attenuate metal activity by positioning ligand atoms in the form of amino acids, as well as making non-covalent contributions to catalysis, through intermolecular interactions that pre-organise substrates and stabilise transition states. This highlights the often neglected but crucial element of natural systems that is the energetic contribution towards activating metal centres through protein fold energy. Finally, general principles needed for a different approach to the formation of ArMs are set out, utilising direct coordination inspired by the activation of an organometallic cofactor upon protein binding. This methodology, observed in nature, delivers true interdependence between metal and protein. When combined with the ability to efficiently evolve enzymes, new problems in catalysis could be addressed in a faster and more specific manner than with simpler small molecule catalysts.