Here the synthetic utility of fluoroacetate
dehalogenase RPA1163 is explored for the production of enantiomerically
pure (R)-α-fluorocarboxylic acids and (R)-α-hydroxylcarboxylic acids via kinetic resolution
of racemic α-fluorocarboxylic acids. While wild-type (WT) RPA1163
shows high thermostability and fairly wide substrate scope, many interesting
yet poorly or moderately accepted substrates exist. In order to solve
this problem and to develop upscaled production, in silico calculations and semirational mutagenesis were employed. Residue
W185 was engineered to alanine, serine, threonine, or asparagine.
The two best mutants, W185N and W185T, showed significantly improved
performance in the reactions of these substrates, while in
silico calculations shed light on the origin of these improvements.
Finally, 10 α-fluorocarboxylic acids and 10 α-hydroxycarboxylic
acids were prepared on a gram scale via kinetic resolution enabled
by WT, W185T, or W185N. This work expands the biocatalytic toolbox
and allows a deep insight into the fluoroacetate dehalogenase catalyzed
C–F cleavage mechanism.