One-pot chemoenzymatic synthesis of 3′-functionalized cephalosporines (cefazolin) by three consecutive biotransformations in fully aqueous medium

We illustrate a new chemoenzymatic synthesis of cefazolin from cephalosporin C, involving three consecutive biotransformations in full aqueous medium. This one-pot three-step synthesis includes the D-amino acid oxidase catalyzed oxidative deamination of the cephalosporin C side chain, hydrolysis of the resulting glutaryl derivative catalyzed by glutaryl acylase, and the final penicillin G acylase (PGA)-catalyzed acylation of 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (1, 7-ACA). The product, 7-[(1H-tetrazol-1-yl)acetamido]-3-(acetoxymethyl)-Delta(3)-cephem-4-carboxylic acid (5), was used as an intermediate for cefazolin synthesis by 3'-acetoxy group displacement with 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole. Very high yields have been achieved with all the enzymatic reactions performed; high product concentrations were obtained in short reaction times. This synthetic approach presents several advantages when compared with the conventional chemical processes. The use of the toxic reagents and chlorinated solvents is avoided, while the substrate specificity and chemoselectivity of the enzymes makes reactive group protection and intermediate purification unnecessary. The enzymatic deacylation of cephalosporin C was performed by the simultaneous use of D-amino acid oxidase and glutaryl acylase. The substrate specificity of PGA allowed the acylation of 7-ACA (1) to be performed without purification from the glutaric acid produced during the enzymatic deacylation. These results were achieved by optimization and correct assembly of the different biotransformations involved. Special attention has been applied to the kinetically controlled acylation reaction. High yields were obtained through a careful selection of the enzyme catalyst, experimental conditions, and synthetic strategy.