Applied biocatalysis, i [...]

Anthropogenic forces, such as petroleum spills and the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, have caused an accumulation of petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment. The accumulation of petroleum and its derivatives now constitutes an important environmental problem. Biocatalysis introduces new ways to improve the development of bioremediation strategies. The recent application of molecular t...

The full biotechnological exploitation of enzymes is still hampered by their low activity, low stability and high cost. Temperature-dependent catalytic properties of enzymes are a key to efficient and cost-effective translation to commercial applications. Organisms adapted to temperature extremes are a rich source of enzymes with broad ranging thermal properties which, if isolated, characterize...

A very short and efficient synthesis of the important drug candidate telaprevir, featuring a biocatalytic desymmetrization and two multicomponent reactions as the key steps, is presented. The classical issue of lack of stereoselectivity in Ugi- and Passerini-type reactions is circumvented. The atom economic and convergent nature of the synthetic strategy require only very limited use of protect...

Biocatalysis has made tremendous advances in the field of synthesis of industrially important products and intermediates. Cofactors are an important part of many enzymes which are involved in biocatalysis. These cofactors are expensive and stoichiometric additions are not economically feasible. This necessitates the in situ cofactor regeneration in biocatalytic processes. Various methods of reg...