Conversion of Aldoses to Valuable ω-Amino Alcohols Using Amine Transaminase Biocatalysts

The conversion of readily available monosaccharides to high-value amino alcohols using a key biocatalytic step is an attractive strategy for the preparation of these chiral synthons. Here, we report a previously undescribed example of the direct amination of monosaccharides, which exist predominantly in their cyclic form at equilibrium, using amine transaminase biocatalysts, providing access to a panel of amino alcohols in moderate to high conversion and isolated yield. A recently developed high-throughput colorimetric screen, employing o-xylylenediamine, was initially used to identify amine transaminase enzymes displaying this activity toward cyclic sugars, and reactions were successfully scaled up using isopropylamine.