Alcohol Dehydrogenases as Catalysts in Organic Synthesis

Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) have become important catalysts for stereoselective oxidation and reduction reactions of alcohols, aldehydes and ketones. The aim of this contribution is to provide the reader with a timely update on the state-of-the-art of ADH-catalysis. Mechanistic basics are presented together with practical information about the...

Alcohol Dehydrogenases Catalyze the Reduction of Thioesters

Alcohol dehydrogenases are well-established catalysts for various reduction reactions. However, the reduction of carboxylic acid derivatives has not yet been reported with these enzymes. In this contribution, we demonstrated that carboxylic acid thioesters could be readily reduced by a range of alcohol dehydrogenases, albeit at significantly...

Selective Photooxidation Reactions using Water-Soluble Anthraquinone Photocatalysts

The aerobic organocatalytic oxidation of alcohols was achieved by using water-soluble sodium anthraquinone sulfonate. Under visible-light activation, this catalyst mediated the aerobic oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones. The photo-oxyfunctionalization of alkanes was also possible under these conditions.