Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Small Molecule Human Therapeutics

Title: Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Small Molecule Human Therapeutics

Volume: 15 Issue: 2

Author(s): Ningqing Ran, Eugene Rui, Jinhua Liu and Junhua Tao

Affiliation:

Keywords: Biocatalysis, chemoenzymatic synthesis, antibiotics, anticancer agents, antidepressants, anti-cholesterol agents, anticonvulsants

Abstract: Pharmaceuticals have historically been produced by either chemical synthesis or whole cell fermentation. The former is applied to synthetic small molecules while the latter to natural products. As a result of recent advances in rapid discovery of enzymes through genome mining and metagenomics, and their tunability in functions and stability through directed evolution, biocatalysis is emerging to be a transformational technology for drug discovery and production. Enzymes can catalyze reactions otherwise challenging by chemical approaches. Furthermore, enzymatic catalysis is a powerful tool for green chemistry development. This manuscript gives a brief overview of current status in integrating chemical and biological transformations for the synthesis of small molecular therapeutics.

Cite this article as:

Ran Ningqing, Rui Eugene, Liu Jinhua and Tao Junhua, Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Small Molecule Human Therapeutics, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2009; 15 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209787002924