Biocatalytic Knoevenagel reaction using alkaline protease from Bacillus licheniformis

Abstract

BLAP (alkaline protease from Bacillus licheniformis) was used as a biocatalyst in the Knoevenagel condensations of aromatic, hetero-aromatic and α;β-unsaturated aldehydes with less reactive acetylacetone or ethyl acetoacetate. The reactions were performed in organic solvent in the presence of water. The functionalized trisubstituted alkenes and α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated carbonyl compounds could be obtained in moderate to good yields with E/Z selectivities up to >99:1. This biocatalytic reaction provided an alternative pathway for Knoevenagel condensation, which also demonstrates a novel case of unnatural activity of existing enzymes.

Keywords::

• biocatalysis
• Knoevenagel condensation
• alkaline protease

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article. Financial support from Natural Science Foundation Project of CQ CSTC (2009BA5051) is gratefully acknowledged.