Vitreoscilla hemoglobin: a natural carbene transfer catalyst for diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of nitrile-substituted cyclopropanes

Hemoproteins have recently emerged as attractive biocatalysts for catalyzing carbene-mediated cyclopropanation, a synthetically valuable reaction not found in nature. In this study, we present a hemoglobin-catalyzed strategy for the highly stereoselective synthesis of nitrile-substituted cyclopropanes. This method offers efficiency and environmental friendliness by utilizing an asymmetric olefin cyclopropanation reaction catalyzed by wild-type Vitreoscilla hemoglobin in the presence of in situ generated diazoacetonitrile. A diverse range of nitrile-substituted cyclopropanes could be synthesized in water with exceptional stereoselectivity, achieving up to 99.9% de and ee and high turnover numbers of up to 3232. By employing this sustainable approach, not only can various chiral nitrile-substituted cyclopropanes be efficiently obtained, but also the practical application of hemoglobin in organic synthesis can be expanded.