Galactose Oxidase Variants for the Oxidation of Amino Alcohols in Enzyme Cascade Synthesis

The use of selected engineered galactose oxidase (GOase) variants for the oxidation of amino alcohols to aldehydes under mild conditions in aqueous systems is reported. GOase variant F2 catalyses the regioselective oxidation of N-carbobenzyloxy (Cbz)-protected 3-amino-1,2-propanediol to the corresponding α-hydroxyaldehyde which was then used in an aldolase reaction. Another variant, M3–5, was found to exhibit activity towards free and N-Cbz-protected aliphatic and aromatic amino alcohols allowing the synthesis of lactams such as 3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one, 2-pyrrolidone and valerolactam in one-pot tandem reactions with xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) or aldehyde oxidase (PaoABC).