Bioproduction of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and derivatives.

ABSTRACT: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) is a recreational drug under clinical investigation for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Chemical synthesis of MDMA mainly relies on the use of safrole and piperonal as starting materials. We report a novel strategy integrating bioconversion and biocatalysis in the bioproduction of MDMA and other methamphetamine derivatives. For the initial step, a yeast-based bioconversion system was used to produce phenylacetylcarbinol (PAC) derivatives from ring-substituted benzaldehyde precursors, including piperonal, using variants of pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC). Among seven wildtype enzymes tested, Candida tropicalis PDC (CtPDC) showed the highest yield from piperonal, and a CtPDC1-I4

SUBMITTER: Ozber N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12710048 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature