52923-20-3

Upstream product

• 74-90-8 hydrogen cyanide 
• 89-98-5 2-chloro-benzaldehyde 
• 7677-24-9 trimethylsilyl cyanide 
• 773837-37-9 sodium cyanide 
• 66985-47-5 2-chloro-α-[(trimethylsilyl)oxy]benzeneacetonitrile 
• 13312-84-0 2-chloromandelonitrile 
• 125803-35-2 2-acetoxy-2-(2-chlorophenyl)acetonitrile 

Downstream Products

• 10421-85-9 (R)-2-chloromandelic acid 
• 10421-85-9 (S)-2-chloromandelic acid 
• 929200-20-4 (S) (2-chlorophenyl)(cyano)methyl 4-methylbenzenesulfonate 

Relevant academic research and scientific papers

Stabilization of Hydroxynitrile Lyases from Two Variants of Passion Fruit, Passiflora edulis Sims and Passiflora edulis Forma flavicarpa, by C-Terminal Truncation

Because the synthesis of chiral compounds generally requires a broad range of substrate specificity and stable enzymes, screening for better enzymes and/or improvement of enzyme properties through molecular approaches is necessary for sustainable industri

Supported Ionic Liquid-Like Phases (SILLPs) as Immobilised Catalysts for the Multistep and Multicatalytic Continuous Flow Synthesis of Chiral Cyanohydrins

Supported Ionic Liquid-Like Phases have been found to be efficient organocatalysts for the synthesis of cyanohydrin esters under solvent-free conditions by an “electrophile-nucleophile dual activation” based on hydrogen bond formation. The combination of

Hydroxynitrile Lyase Isozymes from Prunus communis: Identification, Characterization and Synthetic Applications

Biocatalysts originating from Badamu (Prunus communis) have been applied to catalyze the asymmetric synthesis of (R)-4-methylsulfanylmandelonitrile, a key building block of thiamphenicol and florfenicol. Here, four hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) isozymes from Badamu were cloned and heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris. The biochemical properties and catalytic performances of these isozymes were comprehensively explored to evaluate their efficiency and selectivity in asymmetric synthesis. Among then, PcHNL5 was identified with outstanding activity and enantioselectivity in asymmetric hydrocyanation. Under the optimized mild biphasic reaction conditions, seventeen prochiral aromatic aldehydes were converted to valuable chiral cyanohydrins with good yields (up to 94%) and excellent optical purities (up to >99.9% ee), which provide a facile access to numerous chiral amino alcohols, hypoglycemic agents, angiotension converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and β-blockers. This work therefore underlines the importance of discovering the most potent biocatalyst among a group of isozymes for converting unnatural substrates into value-added products. (Figure presented.).

Solid phase behavior in the chiral systems of various 2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetic acid (mandelic acid) derivatives

The solid phase behavior of a series of monosubstituted F-, Cl-, Br-, I-, and CH3- and two 2,4-halogen-disubstituted 2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetic acid (mandelic acid) derivatives was investigated. The study includes detailed information about melting temperature, melting enthalpy, X-ray diffraction data, as well as selected binary phase diagrams of the respective chiral systems. Aside from the known metastable conglomerate 2-chloromandelic acid, evidence for two more metastable conglomerates was found.

Improving the properties of bacterial r-selective hydroxynitrile lyases for industrial applications

Hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs) catalyse the reversible cleavage of cyanohydrins to carbonyl compounds and HCN. The recent discovery of bacterial HNLs with a cupin fold gave rise to a new promising class of these enzymes. They are interesting candidates for the synthesis of cyanohydrins on an industrial scale owing to their high expression levels in Escherichia coli. The activity and enantioselectivity of the manganese-dependent HNL from Granulicella tundricola (GtHNL) were significantly improved by site-saturation mutagenesis of active site amino acids. The combination of beneficial mutations resulted in a variant with 490-fold higher specific activity in comparison to the wild-type enzyme. More importantly, GtHNL-A40H/V42T/Q110H is a highly competitive alternative for the synthesis of chiral cyanohydrins, such as 2-chlorobenzaldehyde cyanohydrin, (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyronitrile, and (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butene nitrile, which serve as intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals.

(R)-selective hydroxynitrile lyase variants with a cupin fold having improved substrate scope and the use thereof

The present invention relates to an improved recombinant cupin-hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL), which is capable to catalyze the asymmetric cyanohydrin reaction, wherein the recombinant cupin-HNL comprises at least one amino acid substitution, preferably at le

Design of nitrilases with superior activity and enantioselectivity towards sterically hindered nitrile by protein engineering

Abstract The enantioselective hydrolysis of ortho-chloromandelonitrile with nitrilase is one of the most attractive approaches to prepare (R)-ortho-chloromandelic acid. To date, efforts to develop this nitrilase-mediated process were plagued by either insufficient eep (enantiomeric excess of product) or low activity due to the steric hindrance from the ortho-substituted substrate. To improve the nitrilase potential for producing (R)-ortho-chloromandelic acid, an enhancement of both activity and enantioselectivity towards sterically hindered nitriles would be highly desirable. Molecular docking of the (R)-ortho-chloromandelonitrile into the active site of wild-type 2A6 nitrilase (nitA) allowed the identification of proximal nitA active site residues. Several residues (52, 132, 189 and 190) were selected as targets for single and double point mutation to improve nitA activity and enantioselectivity towards ortho-chloromandelonitrile. Targeted mutagenesis yielded several nitA variants with superior activity and enantioselectivity. The best mutant T132A/F189T exhibited a 4.37-fold higher specific activity (7.39 U/mg) towards ortho-chloromandelonitrile than the wild-type nitA. More importantly, the enantioselectivity (E) was improved from 17.34 to >200, resulting in a highly enantiopure product. Molecular docking experiments further support the enhanced activity and enantioselectivity shown experimentally and the structural effects of this amino acid substitution on the active site of nitA are provided. The amino acids at sites 189 and 132 determine the activity and enantioselectivity towards ortho-chloromandelonitrile. With mutant T132A/F189T as a catalyst, a maximum of 450 mM of (R)-ortho-chloromandelic acid was produced with a 90% conversion and >99% eep within 3 h. This is the first time that a high productivity of (R)-ortho-chloromandelic acid of up to 671.76 g L-1d-1 using a nitrilase-mediated approach is reported. The engineered T132A/F189T variant represents a promising and competitive biocatalyst for practical application in synthesizing (R)-ortho-chloromandelic acid.

Enantioselective cyanosilylation of aldehydes catalyzed by novel camphor derived Schiff bases-titanium(IV) complexes

Five tridentate Schiff bases have been prepared from (1R,2S,3R,4S)-3-amino- 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-ol and salicylaldehydes. X-ray structure investigation revealed differences in their molecular conformation, and their titanium(IV) complexes

Efficient production of (R)-o-chloromandelic acid by recombinant escherichia coli cells harboring nitrilase from burkholderia cenocepacia J2315

A solvent engineering approach and an extended fed-batch reaction mode were introduced to increase the activity and enantioselectivity and alleviate the substrate inhibition of nitrilase BCJ2315 from Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315 toward o-chloromandelonitrile. Among the seven water-miscible organic solvents tested, ethanol (30%, v/v) demonstrated the highest reaction conversion (55.7%) and enantioselectivity (enantiomeric excess, 98.2% ee) compared with those of the control [which did not contain any organic solvent (13% and 89.2%, respectively)] and was thus chosen as the suitable cosolvent. In the extended fed-batch reaction mode, o-chloromandelonitrile (solubilized in ethanol, 5 M) was continuously fed into the reaction mixture containing ethanol as cosolvent (20%, v/v) to ensure an optimal reaction rate by adjusting the feeding rate and simultaneously increasing the enantioselectivity due to the increased concentration of ethanol. Finally, a maximum of 415 mM of product was produced with an enantiomeric excess value of 97.6% ee. The hydrolysis process was easily scaled up to 2 L, demonstrating that the described biocatalytic process was rationally designed and could be applied further on an industrial scale.

Asymmetric cyanohydrin formation from aldehydes catalyzed by manganese Schiff base complexes

The catalyst generated in situ from Mn(OAc)2 and a chiral Schiff base ligand exhibited excellent catalytic abilities in asymmetric cyanohydrin formation from aldehydes with sodium cyanide in up to 99% enantioselectivity and good yield.