Thomas_2019_Mol.Catal_473_110402

Enzymes are the main biocatalysts of biological systems and nowadays they play an important role in asymmetric organic synthesis. Microorganisms are the main source for enzymes, however, just a very small portion of them are culturable at lab conditions and, as an alternative, metagenomics approaches allow new enzymes to be accessed from so-called ""non-culturable"" microorganisms. Several classes of metagenomic enzymes have been described in literature. Nevertheless, studies about their potential for asymmetric biotransformation are underexploited. Therefore, we present our recent efforts to establish the substrate-scope of LipG9, a metagenomic lipase, in enzymatic kinetic resolution (EKR) of chiral substances. LipG9 was previously isolated, immobilized and successfully applied in EKR of aliphatic alcohols. In this study, a series of resolvable chiral substances were assayed with LipG9, and secondary benzyl alcohols/esters were preferentially resolved in a much superior enantioselectivity (E > 200) than those described for aliphatic alcohols (E from 4 to 63). In an opposite way, Im-LipG9 did not present activity for tertiary alcohols, amines and lactones. When compared to commercial lipases, Im-LipG9 enantioselectivity was superior to Candida rugosa lipase and equivalent to Candida antarctica lipase B. Thus, the chemo and enantioselectivity of LipG9 in EKR reactions were identified and its potential for asymmetric synthetic approaches was demonstrated.