Issue 1, 2021

Transfer hydrogenation catalysis in cells

Abstract

Hydrogenation reactions in biology are usually carried out by enzymes with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(P)H) or flavin mononucleotide (FAMH2)/flavinadenine dinucleotide (FADH2) as cofactors and hydride sources. Industrial scale chemical transfer hydrogenation uses small molecules such as formic acid or alcohols (e.g. propanol) as hydride sources and transition metal complexes as catalysts. We focus here on organometallic half-sandwich RuII and OsII η6–arene complexes and RhIII and IrIII η5–Cpx complexes which catalyse hydrogenation of biomolecules such as pyruvate and quinones in aqueous media, and generate biologically important species such as H2 and H2O2. Organometallic catalysts can achieve enantioselectivity, and moreover can be active in living cells, which is surprising on account of the variety of poisons present. Such catalysts can induce reductive stress using formate as hydride source or oxidative stress by accepting hydride from NAD(P)H. In some cases, photocatalytic redox reactions can be induced by light absorption at metal or flavin centres. These artificial transformations can interfere in biochemical pathways in unusual ways, and are the basis for the design of metallodrugs with novel mechanisms of action.

Graphical abstract: Transfer hydrogenation catalysis in cells

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
14 avg 2020
Accepted
10 okt 2020
First published
05 nov 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Chem. Biol., 2021,2, 12-29

Transfer hydrogenation catalysis in cells

S. Banerjee and P. J. Sadler, RSC Chem. Biol., 2021, 2, 12 DOI: 10.1039/D0CB00150C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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