Enzymatic oxidation of cyclopropylbenzene: Structures of new metabolites and possible mechanistic implications

Article abstract of DOI:10.1139/v02-098

Cyclopropylbenzene was subjected to whole-cell fermentation with either Escherichia coli JM109 (pDTG601) or E. coli JM109 (pDTG602), expressing toluene dioxygenase and toluene dioxygenase - dihydrodiol dehydrogenase enzymes, respectively. The corresponding metabolites, 3-cyclopropylcyclohexa-3,5-diene-1,2-diol (3) and 3-cyclopropylbenzene-1,2-diol (5) have been isolated in yields of 2.5 and 1 g L^-1, respectively. The absolute stereochemistry correlation for 3 is provided, along with a preliminary discussion of its potential in asymmetric synthesis. Possible mechanistic implications are indicated for the enzymatic oxygenation through the use of calculations. Experimental data are provided for all new compounds.