Chemoenzymatic access to enantiopure N-containing furfuryl alcohol from chitin-derived N-acetyl-D-glucosamine.

A two-step process toward the chiral furfuryl alcohol was successfully developed by integrating chemical catalysis with enzyme catalysis, with excellent enantioselectivities. This work demonstrates the power of the combination of chemo- and biocatalysis for selective valorization of biobased furans.