Alcohol Oxidase–Imine Reductase Cascade for One-Pot Chiral Amine Synthesis

We report a one-pot biocatalytic cascade for the conversion of allylic alcohols into enantioenriched secondary amines through a sequence involving oxidation followed by conjugate reduction-reductive amination (CR-RA). This transformation, catalyzed by a cholesterol oxidase (ShCO) and an ene-imine reductase (EneIRED), proceeds under mild conditions and accommodates a broad substrate scope. In several cases, the cascade outperforms the stepwise method and exhibits substrate-dependent selectivity, highlighting the advantages of tandem enzymatic systems for efficient and streamlined chiral amine synthesis.