Oxygen-Free Regioselective Biocatalytic Demethylation of Methyl-phenyl Ethers via Methyltransfer Employing Veratrol--demethylase.

The cleavage of aryl methyl ethers is a common reaction in chemistry requiring rather harsh conditions; consequently, it is prone to undesired reactions and lacks regioselectivity. Nevertheless, -demethylation of aryl methyl ethers is a tool to valorize natural and pharmaceutical compounds by deprotecting reactive hydroxyl moieties. Various oxidative enzymes are known to catalyze this reaction at the expense of molecular oxygen, which may lead in the case of phenols/catechols to undesired side reactions (e.