Synthesis of lactams using enzyme-catalyzed aminolysis

The formation of ε-caprolactam from 6-aminocaproic acid catalyzed by CALB (N435) is reported. Different lactam ring sizes can be prepared starting from 4-aminobutanoic acid, 5-aminovaleric acid, and 8-aminooctanoic acid. Experiments with mixtures of aminocarboxylic acids have shown that CALB prefers homocyclization of the individual aminocarboxylic acids.