EntreChem reports a ketone reduction – nitrile hydrolysis cascade for chiral hydroxiacids

EntreChem SL, a biotechnology company exploring new biocatalysis-based processes, has published in Organic Letters, a concurrent cascade reaction involving a KRED-catalyzed dynamic kinetic resolution followed by exposure to nitrile hydratase and amidase from Rhodococcus rhodochrous to provide, under mild conditions, a range of ß-hydroxyacids with excellent conversion and enantioselectivity.

The results, part of the EU Training Network BIOCASCADES, highlight the opportunities offered by developing multi-step processeses in a cascade fashion. This kind of all-enzymatic cascade, performed in water, represents an eco-friendly, highly effective alternative to the harsh conditions typically needed for chiral hydroxyacids

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