Advances in One-Pot Chiral Amine Synthesis Enabled by Amine Transaminase Cascades: Pushing the Boundaries of Complexity

Amine transaminases constitute an important class of enzymes for the synthesis of chiral amines, which are commonly used as building blocks in pharmaceutical compounds and fine chemicals. Over the past decade, developments in enzyme discovery and process and protein engineering have advanced the use of transaminases in organic synthesis. Recent advances in enzymatic cascade engineering have attracted attention due to efficient and environmentally friendly routes to synthesize chiral amines. Enzymatic cascades can reduce the traditional multistep synthesis and have enabled the generation of chiral products from cheap starting materials. This review focuses on chiral amine synthesis by enzymatic and chemoenzymatic cascades utilizing amine transaminases.