ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role of cytochromes P450 in industrial processes already in use for the synthesis of drugs and on the progresses made to develop new bio-processes involving the enzymes. The increase in the complexity of pharmaceutical compounds and the need of green technologies to protect human health and environment are the main inputs for expanding the use of biocatalysis as an alternative to the traditional chemical synthesis methods. Cytochromes P450 superfamily was first discovered in 1958 by M. Klingenberg when he detected in rat liver microsomes a membrane-bound pigment exhibiting a maximum of absorbance at 450 nm when reduced and complexed with carbon monoxide. The differences in the reactions catalyzed and substrates recognized by cytochromes P450 is mainly due to the presence of variable and flexible regions, the so-called substrate-recognition sites or SRSs that define the substrate access channel and the active site.
