Biotransformations in organic synthesis

Crout DHG, Christen M (1989) Biotransformations in Organic Synthesis. In Scheffold R (ed) Modern Synthetic Methods. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, New York, vol. 5, p 1... 

M Christen, DHG Crout. Biotransformation in organic synthesis applications of yeast reduction in the synthesis of 3,5-dihydroxy esters of high optical purity. J Chem Soc Chem Commun 45 264-266, 1988. 

P. Gramatica, Biotransformations in organic synthesis, Chim. Oggi, 7 9 (1989). 

Collins, Chirality in Industry, K. Faber, Biotransformations in Organic Synthesis, Springer, 4th edition, 2000 Drauz and Waldmann, Enzyme Catalysis in Organic Synthesis. 

D. H. G. Crout, M. Christen in Modern Synthetic Methods Biotransformations in Organic Synthesis, p 1. Springer, Berlin 1989. 

Crout, D.H.G., and Christen M. Biotransformations in Organic Synthesis. In Modern Synthetic Methods, Vol. 5. Scheffold. R. (ed.) Springer-Verlag Berlin, 1989, pp.1-114. 

Twenty years ago, only a handful of laboratories, some in industry and some in academia, were interested in using enzyme-catalysed reactions (biotransformations) in organic synthesis. At best those researchers were considered to be at the margin of mainstream synthetic organic chemistry at worst they were considered to be downright odd. 

Wang, M.-X. (2009) Progress of enan-tioselective nitrile biotransformations in organic synthesis. CHIMIA Int. J. Chem., 63, 331-333. 

Besides recombinant whole cells, crude extracts are also widely applied, and typically most of the enzyme formulations used for biotransformations in organic synthesis are crude extracts or partially purified proteins rather than highly purified enzymes (which are more needed in the field of diagnostic applications). 

K. Faber, Biotransformations in Organic Synthesis, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, 2011. 

In the following section, a summary about selected examples of applications of whole-cell-catalyzed biotransformations in organic synthesis will be given. In particular, synthetic applications in the presence of recombinant whole-cell catalysts will be described. Examples of transformations utilizing wild-type whole cells will be provided, in particular when those biotransformations have resulted in technical applications. 

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