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  4. Switching Enantioselectivity in Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase for the Synthesis of Electron‐Deficient Aromatic <scp>d</scp>‐Amino Acids
 
research article

Switching Enantioselectivity in Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase for the Synthesis of Electron‐Deficient Aromatic d‐Amino Acids

Buslov, Ivan  
•
Desmons, Sarah  
•
Wang, Weijin  
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September 12, 2025
Angewandte Chemie

Aromatic d‐amino acids (d‐AAs) are valuable building blocks in drug discovery and peptide therapeutics, yet their direct and efficient biocatalytic synthesis remains a challenge. Here, we report the rational engineering of phenylalanine ammonia lyase from Planctomyces brasiliensis (PbPAL) to enable asymmetric hydroamination for the enantioselective synthesis of d‐aromatic amino acids. By targeting active‐site residue L205, we identified variants capable of highly d‐enantioselective hydroamination, with L205F enabling the transformation of electron‐deficient aryl acrylates with >99% enantiomeric excess (ee). The synthetic utility of this platform was demonstrated by gram‐scale synthesis of d‐benzoxazole and substituted 2‐pyridylalanines. Structural and mutational studies revealed distinct roles for the 4‐methylideneimidazole‐5‐one (MIO) prosthetic group and active‐site residues L205, Y64, and K397 in modulating enantioselectivity. These results enabled the identification of PbPAL variants with the opposite selectivity, such as L205V‐K397A, which preferentially produce l‐amino acids. This work broadens the utility of PALs as programmable biocatalysts for asymmetric synthesis.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1002/ange.202511739
Author(s)
Buslov, Ivan  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Desmons, Sarah  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Wang, Weijin  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Massaad, Laura Elena  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Hu, Xile  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Date Issued

2025-09-12

Publisher

Wiley

Published in
Angewandte Chemie
Article Number

e202511739

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LSCI  
LPPT  
FunderFunding(s)Grant NumberGrant URL

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

200020_212062

Available on Infoscience
September 19, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/254135
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