Synthetic potential of thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzymes

Thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzymes (mainly pyruvate decarboxylase, transketolase, benzoylformate decarboxylase) are increasingly being used to perform regio- and enantioselective reactions in chemoenzymatic syntheses. To utilize enzymes for unphysiological reactions and to yield novel products, a broad substrate spectrum is desirable. We give an overview of the use of these enzymes in biotransformations and in chemoenzymatic syntheses including multi-enzyme approaches which involve thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzymes as biocatalysts to obtain pharmaceutical compounds as ephedrine and glycosidase inhibitors, sex pheromones as exo-brevicomin, C-13-labelled metabolites, and other intermediates as 1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate, a precursor of vitamins and isoprenoids. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.