Enzyme‐Catalyzed Efficient Synthesis of Enantiomerically Pure ( <i>S</i> )‐ and ( <i>R</i> )‐n‐Butylphthalide
3-n-Butylphthalide (NBP) is an effective commercial drug for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, with its S-enantiomer, (S)-NBP, demonstrating clinical superiority over (R)-NBP. However, the stereoselective synthesis of both enantiomers with high enantiomeric excess (ee) presents significant challenges. Herein, a novel enzymatic strategy for the efficient and highly stereoselective synthesis of (S)- and (R)-NBPs under mild reaction conditions is presented. Specifically, two carbonyl reductases, SmCR<sub>K6</sub> and SsCR<sub>K1</sub>, are engineered to facilitate the asymmetric reduction of the prochiral aromatic ketone, 2-pentanoyl benzonitrile (1), followed by intramolecular cyclization to produce chiral NBPs. SmCR<sub>K6</sub> exhibits a catalytic activity of 0.46 Umg<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup> protein, which is 23-fold greater than that of its parent enzyme, SmCR<sub>V4</sub>, and the ee value of (S)-NBP increases from 2% to 94% (S). The catalytic activity of SsCR<sub>K1</sub> (9.46 U mg<sup>-1</sup> protein) is fourfold higher than that of its parent, SsCR, and the ee of (R)-NBP reachs 99%. In the preparative synthesis, (S)-NBP and (R)-NBP are generated continuously in a 3D microfluidic reactor, achieving space-time yields that are 9-fold and 30-fold higher, respectively, than those obtained in batch reactions. This continuous-flow enzymatic process has the potential for future scale-up for the industrial production of these important chiral drugs and similar derivatives.
Authors
- Zhiwen Lu
- Keming Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2641-2076)
- Xiaoyan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1562-0045)
- Liliang Chu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1657-7202)
- Peiwen Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8175-4060)
- Jianing Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1298-9234)
- Yunpeng Bai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6973-581X)
- Hui Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8748-9176)
Institutions
- East China University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Dalian University of Technology (CN)
- Northwest University (CN)
- Dalian University (CN)
- Shaanxi University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ChemBioChem
- Published
- 2025-10-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202500482
- Primary Topic
- Neurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00