Photobiocatalysis: Activating Redox Enzymes by Direct or Indirect Transfer of Photoinduced Electrons

Biocatalytic transformation has received increasing attention in the green synthesis of chemicals because of the diversity of enzymes, their high catalytic activities and specificities, and mild reaction conditions. The idea of solar energy utilization in chemical synthesis through the combination of photocatalysis and biocatalysis provides an opportunity to make the green process greener. Oxidoreductases catalyze redox transformation of substrates by exchanging electrons at the enzymes active site, often with the aid of electron mediator(s) as a counterpart. Recent progress indicates that photoinduced electron transfer using organic (or inorganic) photosensitizers can activate a wide spectrum of redox enzymes to catalyze fuel-forming reactions (e.g., H-2 evolution, CO2 reduction) and synthetically useful reductions (e.g., asymmetric reduction, oxygenation, hydroxylation, epoxidation, Baeyer-Villiger oxidation). This Review provides an overview of recent advances in light-driven activation of redox enzymes through direct or indirect transfer of photoinduced electrons.