Pictet-Spenglerases and their related biologyical characteristics

Pictet-Spengler ( P-S ) reaction plays an important role in the synthesis of isoquinoline and β-carboline derivatives. Being one of the most basic-steps in the syntheses of many alkaloids, it has attracted much attention in recent years. During P-S reaction, the original aldehyde carbon atoms become a new chiral center in the newly formed heterocyclic system. The products of simple P-S are racemic mixture, so searching catalyst for asymmetric reaction has been one of the hot topics. "Pictet-Spenglerases" which may generate products with high stereochemical purity, refer to the enzymes that catalyze P-S reactions. The enzymes which can catalyze P-S reactions are rare in nature and only a few of them had been purified and identified so far. Some recent isolated enzymes and their related biological characteristics are reviewed for providing some assistance to find new enzymes and research systems in this field.