Pharmaceuticals with Lyases

A further industrially important lyase for the production of L-amino acids is the tyrosine phenol lyase [39]. This biocatalyst is used by Ajinomoto in the production of the pharmaceutically important L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa), 32, which is applied in the treatment of Parkinson s disease. The reaction concept is based on a one-pot three-component synthesis starting from catechol, 30, pyruvic acid, 31, and ammonia in the presence of suspended whole cells (strain Erwinia herbicola) containing the tyrosine phenol lyase biocatalyst (Fig. 16). A key feature of this process is the high volumetric productivity of 110 g/L of the desired L-dopa product. Notably, this reaction runs with an annual capacity of 250 tons. 

In this section, we will focus on linear cascades combining m-TAs with hydrolases or lyases. For example, the synthesis of (2S,3S)-2-aminopentane-l,3-diol from propanal and p-hydroxypyruvate was facilitated [50] by coupHng a mutated transketolase from E. coli (TK D469T) [51] and an m-TA from C. violaceum [31] (Scheme 4.14). Such vicinal chiral amino alcohols represent an important class of building blocks and pharmaceutical intermediates. 

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