New Trends in Non-Aqueous Biocatalysis

It is now well known that non-aqueous biocatalysis has emerged as an important area of systematic research and industrial development over the last two decades, fueled mainly by chemical and pharmaceutical interest. The non-aqueous biocatalysis boasts many potential advantages, including higher substrate solubility, reversal of hydrolytic reactions and modified enzyme specificity. As a consequence, applications of enzymatic catalysis in organic solvents range from chiral resolution of pharmaceuticals and their intermediates to enantio- or regio-selective synthesis of these substances. In this review, recent trends of biocatalyst engineering and solvent engineering in non-aqueous biocatalysis, diversified enzyme reactions for non-aqueous biocatalysis and a greener need for it have been discussed in detail with new examples.