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Biocatalytic retrosynthesis

The recent development of a broad range of biocatalysts that can be applied in organic synthesis has brought into focus the need to rethink the way in which organic target molecules might be constructed in the future. To aid synthetic chemists in identifying where biocatalysts might be usefully applied, we propose that guidelines and rules for 'biocatalytic retrosynthesis' be developed and that this new approach be embedded in the future training and education of organic chemists.

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Figure 1: Examples of commercially available biocatalysts that can be used to generate key chiral building blocks generated via retrosynthesis of target molecules.
Figure 2: Examples of chemoenzymatic routes for the synthesis of the key side chain of atorvastatin.
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Correspondence to Nicholas J Turner.

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Turner, N., O'Reilly, E. Biocatalytic retrosynthesis. Nat Chem Biol 9, 285–288 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1235

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