New opportunities for biocatalysis: driving the synthesis of chiral chemicals

Abstract

Various biocatalytic methods have been developed for the synthesis of chiral chemicals, which have made their synthesis more environmentally friendly and product-specific. New opportunities for biocatalysis, including new scientific developments in genomics and protein engineering technologies, novel process developments and the increased availability of useful enzymes, offer many possibilities for the manufacture of new chiral compounds and deliver greener and economically competitive processes. In this review, new opportunities for biocatalysis in the preparation of chiral molecules are outlined and highlighted.