Enzyme evolution at home

摘要

Chiral amines are essential components of many drugs and other valuable compounds.Biocatalysis offers a sustainable route towards the production of these important building blocks.Particularly promising are transaminases that catalyse the transfer of an amino group from an amine donor to a ketone or aldehyde with excellent stereoselectivity.For example,an engineered transaminase variant is successfully applied in the industrial synthesis of the antidiabetic drug Sitagliptin.Yet,this enzyme class is often limited with respect to activity and stability.Therefore,the identification of robust and active transaminases with extensive substrate scopes is of high importance in order to extend their application in industry and academia.