Biocatalysis: A Three-Enzyme System Involving an Ene-Reductase for Generating Valuable Chiral Building Blocks

The first example ever reported of an ERED-catalysed enantiospecific reduction carried out at large scale using a carbonyl reductase enzyme.
The use of ene-reductase (ERED) enzymes for the asymmetric reduction of olefins offers a green, renewable alternative to metal-catalysed asymmetric reduction. We report herein the first example of an ERED-catalysed enantiospecific reduction carried out at large scale using a carbonyl reductase (CRED) enzyme in the cofactor recycle. This reaction has been paired with a hydrolase-mediated regioselective ester hydrolysis to generate a valuable chiral building block using a straightforward one-pot process.