Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering 2024; 29(6): 1164-1173  
Promiscuous acylase as a green catalyst: to directly catalyze the conjugate addition reaction for the synthesis of brivaracetam intermediates
Taimur Khan 1 · Daixi Wang 1 · Muhammad Shahab 1 · Qaim Ali 2 · Guojun Zheng 1
1 State Key Laboratories of Chemical Resources Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Institute of Computational Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
Correspondence to: ✉ Guojun Zheng
zhenggj@mail.buct.edu.cn
Received: April 19, 2024; Revised: July 16, 2024; Accepted: July 18, 2024; Published online: August 13, 2024.
© The Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering. All rights reserved.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Epilepsy, a predominant neurological disorder affecting about 1% of the worldwide population, demands effective treatment options. An antiepileptic drug called brivaracetam has proven amazing efficacy in preventing epilepsy progression, garnering attention for novel synthesis methods. Despite recent progress in conventional synthesis routes, challenges such as expensive catalysts, inconvenient substrates, and hazardous solvents persist. In this context, we share the first finding that immobilized penicillin G acylase (IPGA) can catalyze the polarity reversal conjugate addition reaction. This synthesis is straightforward and does not require any purification. Yield up to 92.41% was achieved at 55 °C using dimethyl sulfoxide as a solvent. The catalytic specificity of IPGA was demonstrated through control experiments. Nonetheless, this research demonstrates the potential of IPGA and other biocatalysts to enable sustainable and effective organic synthesis processes and showcase the promiscuity of existing enzymes.
Keywords: Immobilized penicillin G acylase · Brivaracetam · 4-(1-Nitropropyl)dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one · 4-Propyldihydrofuran-(3H)-one · Enzyme promiscuity


This Article


Cited By Articles
  • CrossRef (0)

Services
Social Network Service

Archives