New Use of Non-natural Catalytic Activity of Pepsin: Highly Efficient Synthesis of Tetrahydroquinazolines

Abstract

Pepsin from porcine gastric mucosa has a non-natural ability to catalyze the cyclocondensation of aromatic amines and 2-aminobenzaldehyde. The corresponding tetrahydroquinazolines were obtained in good yields (41%～95%) in aqueous methanol solution. The catalytic activity of pepsin was evaluated by investigating solvent, temperature, enzyme loading, and substrate ratio in the enzyme-catalyzed reaction. Herein, a potential biocatalytic approach as an alternative to chemical synthesis for tetrahydroquinazoline derivatives was proposed.