Natural occurrence and industrial applications of D-amino acids: an overview.

Interest in D-amino acids has increased in recent decades with the development of new analytical methods highlighting their presence in all kingdoms of life. Their involvement in physiological functions, and the presence of metabolic routes for their synthesis and degradation have been shown. Furthermore, D-amino acids are gaining considerable importance in the pharmaceutical industry. The immense amount of information scattered throughout the literature makes it difficult to achieve a general overview of their applications. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art on D-amino acid applications and occurrence, providing both established and neophyte researchers with a comprehensive introduction to this topic.