title: The solvent dependence of enzyme specificity.
abstract: The discovery that enzymes possess catalytic activity in organic solvents has made it possible to address the question of the influence of the reaction medium on enzymatic specificity. Recently, the substrate specificity, enantioselectivity, prochiral selectivity, regioselectivity, and chemoselectivity of enzymes have been found to dramatically depend on the nature of the solvent. This review discusses the scope, possible mechanisms, and implications of this phenomenon, as well as directions of future research in the area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Wescott
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Klibanov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004798:Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D012997:Solvents; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes; D012997:Solvents