The Unexplored Importance of Fleeting Chiral Intermediates in Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions.

ABSTRACT: Decades of extensive research efforts by biochemists, organic chemists, and protein engineers have led to an understanding of the basic mechanisms of essentially all known types of enzymes, but in a formidable number of cases an essential aspect has been overlooked. The occurrence of short-lived chiral intermediates formed by symmetry-breaking of prochiral precursors in enzyme catalyzed reactions has been systematically neglected. We designate these elusive species as fleeting chiral intermediates and analyze such crucial questions as "Do such intermediates occur in homochiral form?" If so, what is the absolute configuration, and why did Nature choose that particular stereoisomeric form, even when the isolable final product may be achiral? Does the absolute configuration of a chiral produc

SUBMITTER: Reetz MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8461649 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature