Applications of Flavoprotein Oxidases in Organic Synthesis: Novel Reactivities that Go Beyond Amine and Alcohol Oxidations

Oxidases represent a distinct and interesting class of oxidative biocatalysts. A major portion of the known oxidases contain a flavin as cofactor, with glucose oxidase as best known example. While a number of oxidases are well known in the field of biocatalysis, the total number of available oxidases is rather limited. However, by analysis of literature data and genome sequences a clear picture emerges: nature harbors a large number of unexplored flavoprotein oxidases that can catalyze a breadth of oxidative reactions. In this review a summary is provided of the unique and intriguing catalytic potential of newly discovered flavoprotein oxidases. The reactions that have been shown to be catalyzed range from enantio- and/or regioselective alcohol and amine oxidations to oxidative C-O or C-C bond formations. This illustrates that nature harbors a large collection of oxidases that can be of use for catalyzing complex oxidative reactions.