Biocatalytic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols

Driven by the immaturity of many organic oxidation reactions and the necessity for 'green' chemical processes, biocatalytic redox processes are being investigated with increasing intensity in order to tap the full potential of the excellent chemo-, regio- and enantioselectivity of enzymes. Despite their unmatched advantage in view of environmental aspects, the requirement of cofactors and the availability of redox enzymes able to tolerate high concentrations of organic (co)substrates sets limitations. However, during the past years, an increasing number of applications to the bio-oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols with novel redox enzymes have been developed. This review gives an overview on the different methods and their potential and limits.