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Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Enzymatic Cascade Reactions for the Synthesis of Chiral Amino Alcohols from L-lysine
Published on: February 16, 2018
Using enzyme cascades in biocatalysis: Highlight on transaminases and carboxylic acid reductases
Rhys Cutlan1, Simone De Rose2, Michail N Isupov2
1Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK.
Abstract:
Biocatalysis, the use of enzymes in chemical transformations, is an important green chemistry tool. Cascade reactions combine different enzyme activities in a sequential set of reactions. Cascades can occur within a living (usually bacterial) cell; in vitro in 'one pot' systems where the desired enzymes are mixed together to carry out the multi-enzyme reaction; or using microfluidic systems. Microfluidics offers particular advantages when the product of the reaction inhibits the enzyme(s). In vitro systems allow variation of different enzyme concentrations to optimise the metabolic 'flux', and the addition of enzyme cofactors as required. Cascades including cofactor recycling systems and modelling approaches are being developed to optimise cascades for wider industrial scale use. Two industrially important enzymes, transaminases and carboxylic acid reductases are used as examples regarding their applications in cascade reactions with other enzyme classes to obtain important synthons of pharmaceutical interest.
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