Biocatalysis refers to the use of living (biological) systems or their parts to speed up (catalyze) chemical reactions. In biocatalytic processes, natural catalysts, such as enzymes, perform chemical transformations on organic compounds. Both enzymes that have been more or less isolated and enzymes still residing inside living cells are employed for this task.[1][2][3] Modern biotechnology, specifically directed evolution, has made the production of modified or non-natural enzymes possible. This has enabled the development of enzymes that can catalyze novel small molecule transformations that may be difficult or impossible using classical synthetic organic chemistry. Utilizing natural or modified enzymes to perform organic synthesis is termed chemoenzymatic synthesis; the reactions performed by the enzyme are classified as chemoenzymatic reactions.
- ^ Anthonsen, Thorlief (2000). "Reactions Catalyzed by Enzymes". In Adlercreutz, Patrick; Straathof, Adrie J. J. (eds.). Applied Biocatalysis (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis. pp. 18–59. ISBN 978-9058230249.
- ^ Faber, Kurt (2011). Biotransformations in Organic Chemistry (6th ed.). Springer. ISBN 9783642173936.[page needed]
- ^ Jayasinghe, Leonard Y.; Smallridge, Andrew J.; Trewhella, Maurie A. (1993). "The yeast mediated reduction of ethyl acetoacetate in petroleum ether". Tetrahedron Letters. 34 (24): 3949–3950. doi:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)79272-0.