An Overview of Enzymes Used in Chiral Synthesis

Though asymmetric hydrogenation, isomerization, and epoxidation have been well developed for the synthesis of enantiopure compounds, the universality of these methods is limited. Classical resolution of a racemate with a chiral auxiliary is typically used by chemists for manufacturing optically active compounds, although these methods suffer from low efficiency and large amounts of waste. More importantly, the limitations are aggravated by the unsatisfactory optical purity of the products. 

Classical kinetic resolution of racemates is frequently employed for the preparation of enantiopure compounds. In order to circumvent the limitation 

Hydrolases Hydrolytic reactions in HjO Lipase, protease, esterase, nitrilase, amidase, glycosi-dase, phosphatase 

Oxidoreductases Oxidation or reduction Dehydrogenase, oxidase, oxygenase, peroxidase 

Transferases Transferring a group from one molecule to another Transaminase, transaldolase, glycosyltransferase 

---