US Patent 7211420 Process for oxidizing terpenes

A process for oxidizing a substrate which is an acyclic or cyclic terpene, or a cycloalkene; or a substituted derivative thereof, which process comprises oxidizing said compound with a mutant haem-containing enzyme, the mutant comprising the substitution of an amino acid in the active site by an amino acid with a less polar side-chain. The enzyme is typically P450cam or P450BM-3. Cells and libraries of cells in which the process can be carried out or which can be used to select advantageous mutant enzymes are also provided.