Synthesis of L-β-hydroxyaminoacids using serine hydroxymethyltransferase

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)88770-6

The enzyme serine hydroxymethyltransferase (EC 2.1.2.1) has been used in the synthetic direction with a variety of aldehyde substrates to form carbon---carbon bonds with the creation of two chiral centres. A variety of β-hydroxyaminoacids has been prepared in reasonable yields but, although L-stereo specificity is observed at the α-centre, stereospecificity is not high at the β-centre when the reaction is conducted on the preparative scale.