Applied Biocatalysis in Pharmaceuticals

Bioacatalysis has increasingly become the technology of choice to introduce chirality in fine-chemical processes. Biocatalysis sculpts chemical precursors into the precise molecular shapes that are the heart of many pharmaceuticals. In reviewing how biocatalysis can be applied to improve chiral synthesis for pharmaceutical it becomes clear that there will be many opportunities using a simple enzyme system but that many of the more useful applications will require the whole cell because of the requirement for cofactors. In the ever more global commercial arena, biocatalysts becomes ever more central to the competitiveness of individual products, companies, industries, and countries. The use of biocatalysis often leads to less complex, syntheses, lower production costs, and more sustainable production processes. Written for practitioners and students of chemistry, biology and bioengineering, this book provides a comprehensive review of the applications of biocatalysis in the pharmaceutical industry.