Artificial electron carriers for photoenzymatic synthesis under visible light.

NAD analogues can be employed as artificial electron carriers for photoenzymatic synthesis under visible light. Four different NAD analogues that have a 3-substituted pyridine ring have been investigated. 3-Acetylpyridine adenine dinucleotide and 3-pyridinealdehyde adenine dinucleotide were photochemically reduced much more efficiently than NAD, while their reduced products showed coenzyme activity comparable to natural NAD.