Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 2, 2025

Enzymatic Cascade Reactions for the Synthesis of Chiral Amino Alcohols from L-lysine
Published on: February 16, 2018
Biocatalysis: A smart and green tool for the preparation of chiral drugs
Giacomo Rossino1, Marina Simona Robescu1, Ester Licastro1
1Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli, Pavia, Lombardia, Italy.
Abstract:
Over the last decades, biocatalysis has achieved growing interest thanks to its potential to enable high efficiency, high yield, and eco-friendly processes aimed at the production of pharmacologically relevant compounds. Particularly, biocatalysis proved an effective and potent tool in the preparation of chiral molecules, and the recent innovations of biotechnologies and nanotechnologies open up a new era of further developments in this field. Different strategies are now available for the synthesis of chiral drugs and their intermediates. Enzymes are green tools that offer several advantages, associated both to catalysis and environmentally friendly reactants. Specifically, the use of enzymes isolated from biological sources or of whole-cell represents a valuable approach to obtain pharmaceutical products. The sustainability, the higher efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of biocatalytic reactions result in improved performance and properties that can be translated from academia to industry. In this review, we focus on biocatalytic approaches for synthesizing chiral drugs or their intermediates. Aiming to unveil the potentialities of biocatalysis systems, we discuss different examples of innovative biocatalytic approaches and their applications in the pharmaceutical industry.
More Related Videos
09:27Immobilization of Multi-biocatalysts in Alginate Beads for Cofactor Regeneration and Improved Reusability
Published on: April 22, 2016
10:17Efficient Construction of Drug-like Bispirocyclic Scaffolds Via Organocatalytic Cycloadditions of α-Imino γ-Lactones and Alkylidene Pyrazolones
Published on: February 7, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Chirality in Nature
Prochirality
Chirality
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
Drug Biotransformation: Overview
Regioselectivity and Stereochemistry of Acid-Catalyzed Hydration