An artificial ruthenium-containing β-barrel protein for alkene-alkyne coupling reaction.

A modified CpRu complex, equipped with a maleimide group, was covalently attached to a cysteine of an engineered variant of Ferric hydroxamate uptake protein component: A (FhuA). This synthetic metalloprotein catalyzed the intermolecular alkene-alkyne coupling of 3-butenol with 5-hexynenitrile. When compared with the protein-free CpRu catalyst, the biohybrid catalyst produced the linear product with higher regioselectivity.