Enzyme-catalyzed cascade reactions

Objective

Multi-step enzyme-catalyzed reactions have attracted attention of chemists and biotechnologists and as they allow for increasing the functional complexity of target molecules in a single step. Multi-step enzyme-catalyzed reactions involving non-physiological substrates and selective enzymes are of particular interest. They can be combined in a modular manner and often lead to high-value compounds. Multi-step reactions that proceed in a concurrent manner are denoted as cascade reactions. All metabolic pathways are basically cascade reactions. However, while nature optimized certain pathways to particular target molecule, synthetic chemistry is searching for diverse multi-step processes applicable to a vast number of compounds.

Development of efficient artificial multi-enzyme-systems is of high importance for the chemical industry. By using artificial cascade reactions, molecules of high functionality and enantiomeric purity be can be established, which are not easily to achieve by chemical means. Among them are biologically active compounds, such as pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. On the other hand, cascade reactions in a one-pot process would allow to save time and materials and to reduce the amount of toxic compounds.

Funding

• CLIB-Graduiertencluster Industrielle Biotechnologie (CLIB-GC)
• Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)