ω-Transaminase-catalyzed kinetic resolution of chiral amines using l-threonine as an amino acceptor precursor

Abstract

Kinetic resolution of chiral amines using L-threonine as a cosubstrate was demonstrated by a biocatalytic strategy in which (S)-selective ω-transaminase (ω-TA) was coupled with threonine deaminase (TD), eliminating the need to use an expensive keto acid as an amino acceptor. The coupled enzyme reaction enabled simultaneous production of enantiopure (R)-amine and L-homoalanine which are pharmaceutically important building blocks. To extend the versatility of this strategy to production of both enantiomers of chiral amines, (R)-selective ω-TA coupled with TD was employed to produce (S)-amine.