Hybrid Catalysis in Concurrent Mode: How to Make Catalysts and Biocatalysts Compatible?

For a long time, catalysis and biocatalysis seemed to be in competition until the organic chemist decided to synergize them for the better. However, their inherent differences presented such a challenge that most of the hybrid catalysis processes developed turned out to be sequential. Nevertheless, some processes have demonstrated that achieving the seemingly impossible was indeed feasible, by combining catalysts and biocatalysts in concurrent mode. This means having them operate under the same experimental conditions, in the presence of all reagents, from the start of the reaction cascade. The objective of this review is to illustrate how it became possible, drawing upon multidisciplinary fields such as organic and inorganic chemistry, chemo- and biocatalysis, to reconcile catalysts that are opposed by many parameters. Through a classification of encountered difficulties, organic chemists can swiftly identify methods to overcome them, creating a toolbox to develop new innovative processes. This concept covers papers describing how catalysts and biocatalysts can work together under common experimental conditions, without interfering with each other, in the presence of all the reagents from the start of a one-pot hybrid catalysis process, i. e. in concurrent mode. image