Tuning the Properties of Protein-Based Polymers Using High-Performance Orthogonal Translation Systems for the Incorporation of Aromatic Non-Canonical Amino Acids.

The incorporation of non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) using engineered aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) has emerged as a powerful methodology to expand the chemical repertoire of proteins. However, the low efficiencies of typical aaRS variants limit the incorporation of ncAAs to only one or a few sites within a protein chain, hindering the design of protein-based polymers (PBPs) in which multi-site ncAA incorporation can be used to impart new properties and functions. Here, we determined the substrate specificities of 11 recently developed high-performance aaRS variants and identified those that enable an efficient multi-site incorporation of 15 different aromatic ncAAs. We used these aaRS variants to produce libraries of two temperature-responsive PBPs-elastin- and resilin-like polypeptides (ELPs and RLPs, respectively)-that bear multiple instances of each ncAA. We show that incorporating such aromatic ncAAs into the protein structure of ELPs and RLPs can affect their temperature responsiveness, secondary structure, and self-assembly propensity, yielding new and diverse families of ELPs and RLPs, each from a single DNA template. Finally, using a molecular model, we demonstrate that the temperature-responsive behavior of RLPs is strongly affected by both the hydrophobicity and the size of the unnatural aromatic side-chain. The ability to efficiently incorporate multiple instances of diverse ncAAs alongside the 20 natural amino acids can help to elucidate the effect of ncAA incorporation on these and many other PBPs, with the aim of designing additional precise and chemically diverse polymers with new or improved properties.

A Chiral Iron Disulfonate Catalyst for the Enantioselective Synthesis of 2-Amino-2'-hydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyls (NOBINs).

A novel type of chiral redox disulfonate iron complex for asymmetric catalysis is reported. The [Fe((Ra)-BINSate)]+ (BINSate = 1,1'-binaphthalene-2,2'-disulfonate) complex effectively promotes the enantioselective oxidative cross-coupling between 2-naphthols (1) and 2-aminonaphthalene derivatives (2), affording optically enriched (Ra)-2-amino-2'-hydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyls (NOBINs) with exceptional yields and enantioselective ratios (up to 99% yield and 96:4 er). The [Fe((Ra)-BINSate)]+ catalyst was designed as a chiral version of FeCl3 with multicoordination sites available for binding the two coupling partners 1 and 2 as well as the oxidant. Our structure-selectivity and activity study, which covered most of the important positions in the NOBIN scaffold, revealed the effect of different substitution patterns on the coupling efficiency and stereoselectivity.

Cobalt(II)[salen]-Catalyzed Selective Aerobic Oxidative Cross-Coupling between Electron-Rich Phenols and 2-Naphthols.

A selectivity-driven catalyst design approach was adopted to address chemoselectivity issues in the oxidative coupling of phenols. This approach was utilized for developing a Co(II)[salen]-catalyzed aerobic oxidative cross-coupling of phenols in a recyclable 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropan-2-ol (HFIP) solvent. The waste-free conditions offer a sustainable entry to nonsymmetric biphenols via a mechanistic scheme that involves coupling of a liberated phenoxyl radical with a ligated 2-naphthoxyl radical.

Selective Oxidative Phenol Coupling by Iron Catalysis.

The iron-catalyzed oxidative coupling of phenols has emerged as a powerful method for preparing complex phenolic frameworks from simple and readily available compounds. This synopsis describes the selectivity challenges inherent in oxidative coupling reactions while at the same time presents our mechanistic-driven strategy employed to confront them.

meso-Tetraphenylporphyrin Iron Chloride Catalyzed Selective Oxidative Cross-Coupling of Phenols.

A novel catalytic system for oxidative cross-coupling of readily oxidized phenols with poor nucleophilic phenolic partners based on an iron meso-tetraphenylporphyrin chloride (Fe[TPP]Cl) complex in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropan-2-ol (HFIP) was developed. The unique chemoselectivity of this reaction is attributed to the coupling between a liberated phenoxyl radical with an iron-ligated phenolic coupling partner. The conditions are scalable for preparing a long list of unsymmetrical biphenols assembled from a less reactive phenolic unit substituted with alkyl or halide groups.

Synthetic and Predictive Approach to Unsymmetrical Biphenols by Iron-Catalyzed Chelated Radical-Anion Oxidative Coupling.

An iron-catalyzed oxidative unsymmetrical biphenol coupling in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropan-2-ol that proceeds via a chelated radical-anion coupling mechanism was developed. Based on mechanistic studies, electrochemical methods, and density functional theory calculations, we suggest a general model that enables prediction of the feasibility of cross-coupling for a given pair of phenols.

Significant enhancement in the efficiency and selectivity of iron-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling of phenols by fluoroalcohols.

Significant enhancement of both the rate and the chemoselectivity of iron-catalyzed oxidative coupling of phenols can be achieved in fluorinated solvents, such as 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropan-2-ol (HFIP), 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE), and 1-phenyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol. The generality of this effect was examined for the cross-coupling of phenols with arenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and of phenol with ß-dicarbonyl compounds. The new conditions were utilized in the synthesis of 2'''-dehydroxycalodenin B in only four synthetic steps.