Catalytic procedures are clearly the most economical means to effect selective processes in organic synthesis. For the preparation of enantiomerically pure compounds, the utilization of enzymes is particularly attractive because of high selectivities and mild, environmentally benign reaction conditions. Taking advantage of advances in molecular biology, unique new enzymes are now readily accessible in quantity with properties that are amenable to modification on demand. This volume brings together leading contributors from the forefront of this exciting technology. In their authoritative and timely rewies they cover the state-of-the-art of biocatalysis from the discovery of novel enzymes – by modern screening, evolutionary or immunological approaches – through immobilization techniques for technical processes, to their use in the asymmetric synthesis of important target compounds. Thus, several chapters illustrate the synthetic potential of recently emerging biocatalysts in the phospholipid, epoxide, cyanohydrin, and oligosaccharide fields.
