ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the different classes of enzymes. It focuses on the use of isolated enzymes for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals or intermediates. The enzyme classification adopted by the Enzyme Commission (EC) of the International Union of Biochemistry is based on a hierarchically ordered sequence of numbers EC w.x.y.z: The first number denotes the general class. Proteins designated for the export out of the cytoplasm normally contain an N-terminal signal peptide; hydrolysis of such pre-pro-proteins yields the respective pro-proteins that are activated by splitting of a piece of the molecule. The demand for chiral compounds is rising steadily in a variety of industries of which the fabrication of pharmaceuticals is of utmost importance. The members of the monoamine oxidases family are flavoenzymes catalyzing the oxidative deamination of a variety of compounds via the formation of an imine to aldehydes. Monoamine oxidases have been evolved for use in kinetic resolutions or desymmetrizations.
