Reductive amination of ketones with ammonium catalyzed by a newly identified Brevibacterium epidermidis strain for the synthesis of (S)-chiral amines

The new strain Brevibacterium epidermidis ECU1015 can catalyze the reductive amination of ketones using inorganic ammonium as the amino donor to generate the corresponding (S)-chiral amines with high enantiomeric excess (ee > 99%). A range of (S)-aryl amines were synthesized via biocatalytic reductive amination of ketones.