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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

Enzymatic Cascade Reactions for the Synthesis of Chiral Amino Alcohols from L-lysine
Published on: February 16, 2018
An Ammonium-Formate-Driven Trienzymatic Cascade for ω-Transaminase-Catalyzed (R)-Selective Amination
Fei-Fei Chen1, Yu-Hui Zhang1, Zhi-Jun Zhang1
1State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing , East China University of Science and Technology , 130 Meilong Road , Shanghai 200237 , China.
Abstract:
(R)-Amination mediated by (R)-specific ω-transaminases generally requires costly d-alanine in excess to obtain the desired chiral amines in high yield. Herein, a one-pot, trienzymatic cascade comprising an (R)-specific ω-transaminase, an amine dehydrogenase, and a formate dehydrogenase was developed for the economical and eco-friendly synthesis of (R)-chiral amines. Using inexpensive ammonium formate as the sole sacrificial agent, the established cascade system enabled efficient ω-transaminase-mediated (R)-amination of various ketones, with high conversions and excellent ee (>99%); water and CO2 were the only waste products.
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