H2-Driven Reduction of Flavin by Hydrogenase Enables Cleaner Operation of Nitroreductases for Nitro-Group to Amine Reductions

Hydrogenase-mediated reduction of flavin mononucleotide by H 2 is exploited to enable cleaner application nitroreductase enzymes for aromatic nitro functional groups. This turns the overall reaction into a biocatalytic hydrogenation. Use flavin-containing nitroreductases in industrial biotechnology typically relies upon NADH or NADPH as reductant, together with glucose dehydrogenase and regeneration system reduced nicotinamide cofactor, 3 equivalents carbon-intensive required single 6-electron amine conversion. We show here that an alternative reductant nitroreductases, combining this -driven recycling flavin, we avoid glucose, thereby enabling atom-efficient reductions. compare system, via green chemistry metrics, existing strategies nitro-group reductions, particularly respect replacing gas. take steps towards demonstrating viability: report overexpression E. coli hydrogenase 1, giving 12-fold improvement enzyme yield; which exhibits > 26,000 turnovers; demonstrate reasonable solvent tolerance would intensification.