Advancements in biocatalysis: A comprehensive review of applications in organic synthesis

Abstract

Biocatalysis is an essential tool in the green synthesis of compounds. These catalysts exhibit regioselectivity and stereoselectivity toward specific products, enabling nontoxic and eco-friendly synthetic routes with high-yield biotransformation and enantioselectivity, resulting in enantiopure products. Moreover, the E-factor, which measures the efficiency of a process by calculating the ratio of waste generated to the product formed, is significantly lower in biocatalytic organic synthesis than in traditional methods. The reusability of biocatalysts allows for economically advantageous designs, enabling the reproducibility of products with better yields and energy efficiency in the synthetic route. In this context, enzymes and their modified counterparts have been emphasized as biocatalysts for the biotransformation and asymmetric bio-reduction of various ketones, aldehydes, esters, alcohols, and other substrates.