Through the use of proprietary transaminases, Cambrex manufactures a wide range of chiral amines with very high chiral purity. All chiral amines are produced for pilot scale and most are available in large scale for commercial supply.
Transaminases are capable of promoting the inter-conversion of prochiral ketones and chiral amines. In synthesis mode, a prochiral ketone and an amine donor molecule are converted into a chiral amine and a by-product ketone. The transaminases act as true catalysts and are able to promote the reverse reaction: conversion of chiral amines into ketones. In resolution mode, the undesired enantiomer of an amine can be removed from a racemic mixture through conversion to the corresponding ketone by using an appropriate amine receptor. The enzymes are able to perform these exchanges with potentially high chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity. |
