Abstract
The combination of two cofactor self-sufficient
biocatalytic cascade modules allowed the successful transformation
of cyclohexanol into the nylon-6 monomer 6-
aminohexanoic acid at the expense of only oxygen and
ammonia. A hitherto unprecedented carboxylic acid capping
strategy was introduced to minimize the formation of the deadend
intermediate 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid. For this purpose, the
precursor e-caprolactone was converted in aqueous medium in
the presence of methanol into the corresponding methyl ester
instead of the acid. Hence, it was shown for the first time that
esterases—specifically horse liver esterase—can perform the
selective ring-opening of ε-caprolactone with a clear preference
for methanol over water as the nucleophile.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Angewandte Chemie |
Volume | 126 |
Pages (from-to) | 14377 –14381 |
ISSN | 0044-8249 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |