Construction of Chemoenzymatic Linear Cascades for the Synthesis of Chiral Compounds

Inspired by nature, synthetic chemists try to mimic the efficient metabolic networks in living organisms to build complex molecules by combining different types of catalysts in the same reaction vessel. These multistep cascade processes provide many advantages to synthetic procedures, resulting in higher productivities with lower waste generation and cost. However, combining different chemo- and biocatalysts can be challenging as reaction conditions might differ greatly. As a highly multidisciplinary field that benefits from advances in chemical catalysis, molecular biology and reaction engineering, this area of study is rapidly progressing. In this Review, we highlight recent trends and advances in the construction of multistep chemoenzymatic one-pot cascades to access chiral compounds as well as the different strategies to solve current challenges in the field.

Automated summary

Inspired by nature, synthetic chemists are trying to mimic the efficient metabolic networks in living organisms to build complex molecules by combining different types of catalysts in the same reaction vessel. This highly multidisciplinary field benefits from advances in chemical catalysis, molecular biology and reaction engineering, and is rapidly progressing towards higher productivity and lower waste generation and cost in synthetic procedures.