Discussion

This lecture will describe recent work from our laboratory aimed at developing new biocatalysts for enantioselective organic synthesis, with a particular emphasis on the application of engineered biocatalysts for sustainable synthesis. By applying the principles of ‘biocatalytic retrosynthesis’ it is possible to design new synthetic routes to target molecules in which biocatalysts are used in the key bond forming steps. The integration of several biocatalytic transformations into multi-enzyme cascade systems has also been a focus of recent work in our laboratories. In this context monoamine oxidase (MAO-N) has been used in combination with other biocatalysts and chemocatalysts in order to complete a cascade of enzymatic reactions. Other engineered biocatalysts that can be used in the context of cascade reactions include w-transaminases, phenylalanine ammonia lyases, amine dehydrogenases and imine reductases.