Academia.eduAcademia.edu

Outline

Title
Abstract
Key Takeaways
Figures
Introduction
Selected Bottlenecks and Limitations
New Toolboxes and Methodologies
References

Interfacing biocatalysis and organic synthesis

Profile image of Roland WohlgemuthRoland Wohlgemuth

2007, Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology

https://doi.org/10.1002/JCTB.1761
visibility

…

description

8 pages

link

1 file

Abstract

The path to new chemical entities often shows the limitations of existing tools both in biocatalysis and organic chemistry. Organic synthetic procedures to prepare a compound in a target-oriented synthesis can damage other functional parts of the molecule. Protection-deprotection schemes can lead to a dead end, when a certain protecting group cannot be cleaved off. In biocatalysis, on the other hand, the required biocatalytic toolbox and methodology might not be readily available, therefore limiting a biocatalytic approach. New toolboxes, ingredients, and methodologies at the interface of classical organic synthesis and biocatalytic reactions bridge the gap between these two areas. Since product isolation and purification involves a substantial amount of time in the preparation of chemicals, methodologies to simplify these tasks are necessary to get the pure product into the bottle with less work-up time.

Key takeaways
sparkles

AI

  1. New methodologies at the interface of biocatalysis and organic synthesis improve efficiency and reduce waste.
  2. Bottlenecks in synthesis include selectivity issues and product isolation challenges that hinder progress.
  3. Directed evolution enhances enzyme properties, facilitating biocatalytic transformations under specific conditions.
  4. The economic drive for environmentally friendly processes promotes the integration of biocatalysis in chemical production.
  5. Catalytic asymmetric synthesis is crucial for developing single-enantiomer drugs, addressing safety and waste concerns.
Figures (5)
Figure 1. Chemical and biological steps in the historical Reichstein—Griissner synthesis of vitamin C (1934).
Figure 1. Chemical and biological steps in the historical Reichstein—Griissner synthesis of vitamin C (1934).
Figure 3. Microbial resolution of racemic tartaric acid by L.Pasteur. of traditional reactions. Discoveries in solvent-free organic synthesis,!? organic synthesis in water??~22 on one hand, and the use of biocatalysts in non-conventional media like organic solvents??-?4 on the other, have built bridges between these experiments, is the solvent, which traditionally has been water for biocatalysis and organic solvents for organic synthesis. It is, however, interesting to note that both domains have obtained benefits from the exploration of the solvent boundaries
Figure 3. Microbial resolution of racemic tartaric acid by L.Pasteur. of traditional reactions. Discoveries in solvent-free organic synthesis,!? organic synthesis in water??~22 on one hand, and the use of biocatalysts in non-conventional media like organic solvents??-?4 on the other, have built bridges between these experiments, is the solvent, which traditionally has been water for biocatalysis and organic solvents for organic synthesis. It is, however, interesting to note that both domains have obtained benefits from the exploration of the solvent boundaries
Figure 4. Interface types beween a biocatalytic and a classical organic Step.
Figure 4. Interface types beween a biocatalytic and a classical organic Step.

Related papers

New Trends in Organic Synthesis with Oxidative Enzymes
Alejandro Orden

Current Organic Chemistry, 2012

Oxidative enzymes constitute privileged catalysts in organic synthesis. Environmentally benign reaction conditions along with high selectivity are the most appealing characteristic shown by these biocatalysts in contrast to classical metal-based reagents. The present review surveys new perspectives and concepts derived from oxidative enzymatic processes, comprising oxidative C-C bond forming reactions, atroposelective oxidations, oxidative dynamic processes, interconnected reactions, cyclic deracemizations, oxidative desymmetrizations and artificial oxidative enzymes. Selected examples taken from the recent literature are discussed, highlighting relevant aspects from a synthetic point of view. Thus, application of these biocatalyzed reactions in the preparation of chiral high-added value compounds is also outlined. Finally, future perspectives for the development of novel oxidative enzymatic processes and further applications of well settled ones are presented.

View PDFchevron_right
Biocatalysis: A Brief Review
mangesh ghodke

2011

Bio catalysis underpins some of the oldest chemical transformations known to humans. Biocatalysis is the use of natural catalysts, such as protein enzymes to perform chemical transformations on organic compounds. Both enzymes that have been more or less isolated and enzymes still residing inside living cells are employed for this task. More than one hundred years ago, bio catalysis was employed to do chemical transformations on non-natural man-made organic compounds and the last 30 years have seen a substantial increase in the application of bio catalysis to produce fine chemicals, especially for the pharmaceutical industry. Here the author emphasizes on the various application of biocatalysts useful in the pharmaceutical industry.

View PDFchevron_right
Biocatalysts in Organic Synthesis
Mazaahir Kidwai

New Trends in Green Chemistry, 2004

View PDFchevron_right
Tools for Selective Enzyme Reaction Steps in the Synthesis of Laboratory Chemicals
Roland Wohlgemuth

Engineering in Life Sciences, 2006

The need for more selective reactions steps and the compatibility between process steps which follow on from each other has been a major driving force for organic synthesis. The synthesis of chiral compounds, metabolites, new chemical entities and natural products by a combination of chemical and enzyme reaction steps has become well established, due the existence of stable enzymes as selective catalysts which are inherently chiral by nature. Auxiliary tools such as suitable transfer reagents for reaching complete conversion, easy and robust reaction control as well as tools for straightforward workup and purification of the final product have been developed. Selective enzyme reaction steps in the area of hydrolyses, oxidation steps including hydroxylation and the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation, carbon-carbon bond formation and glycosylation reactions have compared favorably with existing methods of classical organic synthesis. The tools developed during optimization and scale-up of these enzyme reaction steps have the potential to shorten development time. The introduction of selective enzyme reactions into an entire synthetic process has resulted in harmonization of improvements in economic efficiency with resultant solutions to health, safety and environment problems. This will become even more important in industrial synthetic chemistry in the future, for convenient solutions to certain intractable synthetic problems and for expanding the repertoire of chemistry by modular biocatalysts. Efficient isolation procedures for the final product are essential to take full advantage of the biocatalytic conversion to obtain high product yields.

View PDFchevron_right
The Scope of Biocatalysts in Organic Chemical Processing
Kjeld Ingvorsen

Springer eBooks, 1986

View PDFchevron_right
Biocatalytic routes toward pharmaceutically important precursors and novel polymeric systems
Sunil sharma PGI18CS042

Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2000

The synthetic potential of enzymes related to organic synthesis has been applied profusely, especially since the introduction of their use in organic solvents. Enzymes offer the opportunity to carry out highly chemo-, regio-, and enantioselective transformations. The use of enzymes in the synthetic sequence provides unique advantages of efficiency and environmental friendliness. Owing to their low cost and applicability to a broad range of substrates, lipases have become the most versatile class of biocatalysts in organic synthesis. We have screened a battery of lipases to carry out highly selective reactions for the synthesis of a wide range of organic compounds and polymeric materials.

View PDFchevron_right
Potential of Biocatalysis in Pharmaceuticals
Vinod Nigam

Molecular Biotechnology [Working Title]

Biocatalysis has been continuously evolving as an essential tool which is playing a significant role in the industrial synthesis of chemicals, active pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical intermediates, etc. where the high-yielding chemo-, regio-, and enantioselective reactions are needed. Despite its vital importance, industrial biocatalysis is facing certain limitations such as operational stability, economic viability, efficient recovery, and reusability. The limitations mentioned can be overcome by the isolation of specific enzyme producers from extreme environment by protein engineering, bioinformatics, and recombinant DNA technologies. Recently, chemoenzymatic pathway and biological cascade reactions have also been developed and designed to perform the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. In this chapter, we compile the broad applications of biocatalysts in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals.

View PDFchevron_right
Role of Enzymes in Synthesis of Biologically Important Organic Scaffolds
Khushbu Gupta

Asian Journal of Chemistry

Green route of biogenic synthesis of heterocyclic compounds via microbes (bacteria, fungi, virus, yeast, algae, etc.) has the potential to deliver clean manufacturing technology. The application of biocatalysts for the synthesis of novel compounds has attracted increasing attention over the past few years and consequently, high demands have been placed on the identification of new biocatalysts for organic synthesis. Enzymes play an increasingly important role as biocatalysts in the synthesis of key intermediates for the pharmaceutical and chemical industry, and new enzymatic technologies. The characteristics of biocatalyst can be tailored with protein engineering and metabolic engineering methods to meet the desired process conditions. This review discusses the synthetic application of all the six classes of enzymes which are oxidoreductase, transferase, hydrolase, lyase, isomerase and ligase. Enzymes are highly selective catalysts and their contribution to regio-, chemo- and stereo...

View PDFchevron_right
Integration of biocatalytic conversions into chemical syntheses
Helen Hailes

Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, 2007

The future application of enzymes in organic synthesis is in part dependent on excellent integration with the neighbouring chemical conversions. This paper outlines some of the key issues to be addressed to achieve optimal integration either by modification of preceding (or following) chemical steps, biocatalyst evolution or combinations of these approaches together with process engineering.

View PDFchevron_right
Development of New Methods in Organic Synthesis and Their Applications to the Synthesis of Biologically Interesting Natural Products
Valerii Bukhtiyarov

CHEMICAL & PHARMACEUTICAL BULLETIN, 2012

2,6-Dimethyl-9-Aryl-9-phosphabicyclo[3.3.1]nonanes (9-PBN and 9-NapBN) and the chiral diaminophosphine oxides (DIAPHOXs) derived from aspartic acid have been introduced as useful ligands and preligands, respectively, for transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis. anti-Selective asymmetric hydrogenation of α-amino-β-ketoesters using Ru-, Rh-, Ir-, and Ni-catalysts through dynamic kinetic resolution have been developed for the first time, producing efficiently important anti β-hydroxy-α-amino acids. The total synthesis of several biologically active natural products was achieved by use of the transition metal-catalyzed reaction using DIAPHOX, anti-selective asymmetric hydrogenation, and reactions developed by us. Synthesis of tangutorine, an antitumor indole alkaloid, has been enantioselectively achieved for the first time. Enantioselective synthesis of a martinelline chiral core was accomplished using the asymmetric tandem Michael-Aldol reaction as a key step developed by us. This synthesis represents the formal total synthesis of martinelline and martinellic acid. Papuamide B was synthesized through the elucidation of unknown stereostructures by using the anti-selective asymmetric hydrogenation and reactions developed by us.

View PDFchevron_right

References (71)

  1. Nicolaou KC and Snyder SA, Classics in Total Synthesis II. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (2003).
  2. Reichstein T and Gr üssner A, Eine ergiebige Synthese der L- Ascorbinsäure (vitamin C). Helv Chim Acta 17:311-328 (1934).
  3. Clardy J and Walsh C, Lessons from natural molecules. Nature 432:829-837 (2004).
  4. Dobson CM, Chemical space and biology. Nature 432:824-828 (2004).
  5. Corey EJ and Cheng XM, The Logic of Chemical Synthesis. John Wiley & Sons, New York (1989).
  6. Ho TL, Tactics of Organic Synthesis. John Wiley & Sons, New York (1994).
  7. Serra MA and de la Torre MC, Dead Ends and Detours -Direct Ways to Successful Total Synthesis. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (2004).
  8. Zaragoza DF, Side Reactions in Organic Synthesis. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (2005).
  9. Seebach D, Organic synthesis -where now? Angew Chem Int Edn 29:1320-1367 (1990).
  10. Drauz K and Waldmann H, Enzyme Catalysis in Organic Synthesis: A Comprehensive Handbook, 2nd edn. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim Vol. I-III (2002).
  11. Bommarius AS and Riebel BR, Biocatalysis. Wiley-VCH, Wein- heim (2004).
  12. Roberts S, Preparative Biotransformations. Whole Cell and Isolated Enzymes in Organic Synthesis. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester (1989).
  13. Faber K, Biotransformations in Organic Chemistry, 5th edn. Springer (2004).
  14. Liese A, Seelbach K and Wandrey C (eds), Industrial Biotrans- formations, 2nd edn. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (2006).
  15. Pasteur L, Mémoire sur la fermentation de l'acide tartrique, C r hebd séances Acad Sci. 46:615-618 (1858).
  16. Pasteur L, Note relative au Penicillium glaucum et à la dissymétrie moléculaire des produits organiques naturels. C r hebd séances Acad Sci 51:298-299 (1860).
  17. Walsh C, Enzymatic Reaction Mechanisms., WH Freeman, San Francisco (1979).
  18. Silverman RB, The Organic Chemistry of Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions. Academic Press, San Diego (2000).
  19. Tanaka K, Solvent-free Organic Synthesis. Wiley-VCH, Wein- heim (2003).
  20. Grieco PA (ed.), Organic Synthesis in Water. Blackie Academic & Professional, London (1998).
  21. Lindstr öm UM, Stereoselective organic reactions in water. Chem Rev 102:2751-2772 (2002).
  22. Li CJ, Organic reactions in aqueous media with a focus on carbon-carbon bond formations: a decade update. Chem Rev 105:3095-3165 (2005).
  23. Klibanov AM, Improving enzymes by using them in organic solvents. Nature 409:241-246 (2001).
  24. Carrea G and Riva S, Properties and synthetic applications of enzymes in organic solvents. Angew Chemie Int Edn 39:2226-2254 (2000).
  25. Kociensky PJ, Protecting Groups, 3rd edn. Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart (2004).
  26. Kadereit D and Waldmann H, Enzymatic protecting group techniques. Chem Rev 101:3367-3396 (2001).
  27. Knowles WS, Asymmetric hydrogenations. Angew Chem Int Edn 41:1998-2007 (2002).
  28. Noyori R, Asymmetric catalysis: science and opportunities, Angew Chem Int Edn 41:2008-2022 (2002).
  29. Sharpless KB, Searching for new reactivity. Angew Chem Int Edn 41:2024-2032 (2002).
  30. Yazbeck DR, Martinez CA, Hu S and Tao J, Challenges in the development of an efficient enzymatic process in the pharmaceutical industry. Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 15:2757-2763 (2004).
  31. Farina V, Reeves JT, Senanayake CH and Song JJ, Asymmetric synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Chem Rev 106:2734-2793 (2006).
  32. Jacobsen EN, Pfaltz A and Yamamoto H (eds), Comprehensive Asymmetric Catalysis. Springer, Berlin (1999).
  33. Leresche JE and Meyer HP, Chemocatalysis and biocatalysis (biotransformation) some thoughts of a chemist and of a biotechnologist. Org Process Res Dev 10:572-580 (2006).
  34. Blaser HU and Schmidt E (eds), Asymmetric Catalysis on Industrial Scale. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (2004).
  35. Caron S, Dugger RW, Gut Ruggeri S, Ragan JA and Brown Ripin DH, Large-scale oxidations in the pharmaceutical industry. Chem Rev 106:2943-2986 (2006).
  36. Hu QY, Zhou G and Corey EJ, Application of chiral cationic catalysts to several classical syntheses of racemic natural products transforms them into highly enantioselective pathways. J Am Chem Soc 126:13708-13713 (2004).
  37. Baxendale IR and Ley SV, Synthesis of alkaloid natural products using solid-supported reagents and scavengers. Current Org Chem 9:521-1534 (2005).
  38. Arnold FH and Georgiu G (eds), Directed Enzyme Evolution: Screening and Selection Methods, Methods of Molecular Biology Vol. 230. Humana Press Inc., New Jersey (2003).
  39. Reetz MT, Controlling the enantioselectivity of enzymes by directed evolution: practical and theoretical ramifications. Proc Natl Acad Sci 101:5716-5722 (2004).
  40. Alphand V, Carrea G, Furstoss R, Woodley JM and Wohlge- muth R, Towards large-scale synthetic applications of Baeyer- Villiger monooxygenases. Trends Biotechnol 21:318-323 (2003).
  41. Hilker I, Alphand V, Wohlgemuth R and Furstoss R, Microbial Transformations 56. Preparative scale asymmetric Baeyer- Villiger oxidation using a highly productive ''two-in-one'' in situ SFPR concept. Adv Synth Catal 346:203-214 (2004).
  42. Hilker I, Wohlgemuth R, Alphand V and Furstoss R, Microbial transformations 59. First kilogram scale asymmetric microbial Baeyer-Villiger oxidation with optimized productivity using a resin-based in situ SFPR strategy. Biotechnol Bioeng 92:702-710 (2005).
  43. Hilker I, Gutierrez MC, Alphand V, Wohlgemuth R and Furstoss R, Microbiological transformations 57. Facile and efficient resin-based in situ SFPR preparative scale synthe- sis of an enantiopure ''unexpected'' lactone regioisomer via a Baeyer-Villiger oxidation process. Org Lett 6:955-1958 (2004).
  44. Hilker I, Baldwin C, Alphand V, Furstoss R, Woodley J and Wohlgemuth R, On the influence of oxygen and cell concentration in an SFPR whole cell biocatalytic Baeyer- Villiger oxidation process. Biotechnol Bioeng 93:1138-1144 (2006).
  45. Gibson M, Nur-e-alam M, Lipata F, Oliveira MA and Rohr J, Characterization of kinetics and products of the Baeyer- Villiger oxygenase MtmOIV, the key enzyme of the biosynthetic pathway toward the natural product anticancer drug Mithramycin from Streptomyces argillaceus. J Am Chem Soc 127:17594-17595 (2005).
  46. Kolb HC, VanNieuwenhenhze MS and Sharpless KB, Cat- alytic asymmetric dihydroxylation. Chem Rev 94:2483-2547 (1994).
  47. Corey EJ and Zhang J, Highly effective transition structure designed catalyst for the enantio-and position-selective dihydroxylation of poly-isoprenoids. Org Lett 3:3211-3214 (2001).
  48. Yildirim S, Franco T, Wohlgemuth R, Kohler HP, Witholt B and Schmid A, Recombinant chlorobenzene dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. P51: a biocatalyst for regiose- lective oxidation of aromatic nitriles. Adv Synth Catal 347:1060-1073 (2005).
  49. Yildirim S, Ruinatscha R, Gross R, Wohlgemuth R, Kohler HP, Witholt B, et al, Selective hydrolysis of the nitrile group of cis-Dihydrodiols. J Mol Catal B: Enzymatic 38:76-83 (2006).
  50. Boyd DR and Bugg TDH, Arene cis-dihydrodiol formation: from biology to application. Org Biomol Chem 4:181-192 (2006).
  51. Ohta H and Tetsukawa H, Microbial epoxidation of long-chain terminal olefins. J Chem Soc, Chem Commun 849-850 (1978).
  52. Katsuki T and Sharpless KB, The first practical method for asymmetric epoxidation. J Am Chem Soc 102:5974-5976 (1980).
  53. Park JB, B ühler B, Habicher T, Hauer B, Panke S, Witholt B et al, The efficiency of recombinant Escherichia coli as biocatalyst for stereospecific epoxidation. Biotechnol Bioeng 95:501-512 (2006).
  54. De Vries EJ and Janssen DB, Biocatalytic conversion of epoxides. Curr Opin Biotechnol 14:414-420 (2003).
  55. Mylerova V and Martinkova L, Synthetic applications of nitrile- converting enzymes. Curr Org Chem 7:1279-1295 (2003).
  56. Wang MX, Enantioselective biotransformations of nitriles in organic synthesis. Topics Catal 35:117-130 (2005).
  57. Bergeron S, Chaplin DA, Edwards JH, Ellis BSW, Hill CL, Holt-Tiffin K, et al, Nitrilase-catalysed desymmetrisation of 3-hydroxyglutaronitrile: preparation of a statin side-chain intermediate. Org Process Res Dev 10:661-665 (2006).
  58. Garcia-Urdiales E, Alfonso I and Gotor V, Enantioselective enzymatic desymmetrizations in organic synthesis. Chem Rev 105:313-354 (2005).
  59. Nicolaou KC, Vourloumis D, Winssinger N and Baran PS, The art and science of total synthesis at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Angew Chem Int Edn 39:44-122 (2000).
  60. Taylor MS and Jacobsen EN, Asymmetric catalysis by chiral hydrogen-bond donors. Angew Chem Int Edn 45:1520-1543 (2006).
  61. Shaeri J, Wohlgemuth R and Woodley JM, Semiquantitative process screening for the biocatalytic synthesis of D-xylulose- 5-phosphate. Org Process Res Dev 10:605-610 (2006).
  62. Ramon DJ and Yus M, Asymmetric multicomponent reac- tions (AMCRs): the new frontier. Angew Chem Int Edn 44:1602-1634 (2005).
  63. Wessjohann LA, Voigt B and Rivera DG, Diversity oriented one-pot Synthesis of complex macrocycles: very large steroid-peptoid Hybrids from multiple multi-component reactions including bifunctional building blocks. Angew Chem Int Edn 44:4785-4790 (2005).
  64. Enders D, Huttl MR, Grondal C and Raabe G, Control of four stereocentres in a triple cascade organocatalytic reaction. Nature 441:861-863 (2006).
  65. Baxendale IR, Griffiths-Jones CM, Ley SV and Tranmer GK, Preparation of the neolignan natural product grossamide by a continuous-flow process. Synlett 3:427-430 (2006).
  66. Broadwater SJ, Roth SL, Price KE, Kobašlija M and McQuade DT, One-pot multi-step synthesis: a challenge spawning innovation. Org Biomol Chem 3:2899-2906 (2005).
  67. Koeller KM and Wong CH, Enzymes for chemical synthesis. Nature 409:232-240 (2001).
  68. Sheldon RA, Green solvents for sustainable organic synthesis: state of the art. Green Chem 7:267-278 (2005).
  69. Burke MD and Schreiber SL, A planning strategy for diversity- oriented synthesis. Angew Chem Int Edn 43:46-58 (2004).
  70. Belder D, Ludwig M, Wang LW and Reetz MT, Enantioselec- tive catalysis and analysis on a chip. Angew Chem Int Edn 25:2463-2466 (2006).
  71. Ishige T, Honda K and Shimizu S, Whole organism biocatalysis. Curr Opin Chem Biol 9:74-180 (2005).

Related papers

The Hitchhiker's guide to biocatalysis: recent advances in the use of enzymes in organic synthesis
Dean Brady

Chemical Science, 2020

Enzymes are excellent catalysts that are increasingly being used in industry and academia. This Perspective provides a general and practical guide to enzymes and their synthetic potential, primarily aimed at synthetic organic chemists.

View PDFchevron_right
On the development of new biocatalytic processes for practical pharmaceutical synthesis
gjalt huisman

Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 2013

Biocatalysis has established itself as a scalable and green technology for the production of a broad range of pharmaceutical APIs and intermediates. The number and scope of biocatalysts employed on large scale to deliver costadvantaged and quality-advantaged processes to important substances continue to expand. This review discusses the recent developments in the field, including examples of processes leveraging hydrolases, reductases, transaminases, oxidases and other biocatalysts, focused on the preparation of important investigational and launched therapeutics. Biocatalysts recently discovered, and in some cases rediscovered, for the interesting chemistry they enable are likely to further substantiate the expansion of the biocatalysis field.

View PDFchevron_right
Synthesis of Metabolites and Metabolite-Like Compounds Using Biocatalytic Systems
Roland Wohlgemuth

Methodologies for the synthesis and purification of metabolites, which have been developed following their discovery, analysis and structural identification, have been involved in numerous life science milestones. The renewed focus on the small molecule domain of biological cells has also created an increasing awareness of the rising gap between the metabolites identified and the metabolites which have been prepared as pure compounds. Due to the large number and molecular diversity of metabolites the design and engineering of resource-efficient and straightforward synthetic methodologies for their production have attracted much interest. The variety of metabolic pathways in biological cells provide a wonderful blueprint for designing simplified and resource-efficient synthetic routes to desired metabolites. Therefore, biocatalytic systems have become key enabling tools for the synthesis of an increasing number of metabolites, which can then be utilized as standards, enzyme substrate...

View PDFchevron_right
Recent advances in biocatalysis and biotransformations
jesus fernández

BBA - Proteins and Proteomics, 2020

Industrial processes for the manufacture or modification of chemicals and raw stuffs through “classic” chemistry and catalysis often involve the use of hazardous substances and substantial amounts of energy. In contrast, the “manufacture and modification” of molecules in nature is catalyzed by enzymes with exquisite selectivity, unparalleled rate acceleration and under “mild” reaction conditions. Therefore, the application of enzymes to catalyze industrial reactions, known as “biocatalysis”, has the potential to make chemical processes less contaminant and more sustainable, in accordance with the concept and principles of Green Chemistry. In fact, biocatalysis offers several advantages over chemical methods, which include one-pot reactions, a higher regio- and stereo-selectivity, higher total yields and product purities, and an environmentally-friendly technology. However, despite the great potential of enzymes as biocatalysts, their use in industry is often precluded by several factors, including: i) the high cost of recombinant enzymes, ii) the low stability and short lifespan of the mesophilic enzymes subjected to the rather harsh conditions often needed in some industrial processes (extreme pH values, high temperatures, and the presence of organic solvents), and iii) the difficulty in isolating the biocatalyst from the reaction medium for its reutilization. In fact, these constraints require careful consideration in biocatalytic process development. Nowadays, modern advances in synthetic biology, molecular biology, microbiology, bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics, metabolic and protein engineering, enzyme technology and immobilization methodologies offer efficient strategies to circumvent the abovementioned scale-up problems, and have promoted the Biocatalysis to the next level: “The Golden Age of Biocatalysis” This Special Issue aims to gather the recent advances in the field of biocatalysis and biotransformations, with special emphasis on all the steps of biocatalytic cycle: i) selection of the biocatalyst, ii) 'in silico' data mining, iii) 'in vivo' screening, iv) cloning, expression, production and purification of enzymes, v) structural and functional characterization, vi)improvement of the biocatalyst, vii) enzyme immobilization and reutilization of biocatalyst and viii) scaling up bioprocesses.

View PDFchevron_right
A Review on Biological Catalysts in Organic Synthesis
ayuk lakem

The application of biocatalysts for the synthesis of novel compounds has attracted increasing attention over the past few years and consequently, high demands have been placed on the identification of new biocatalysts for organic synthesis. The catalysis of many organic reactions reflects the importance and high expectations of this field of research. Enzymes play an increasingly important role as biocatalysts in the synthesis of key intermediates for the pharmaceutical and chemical industry, and new enzymatic technologies and processes have been established. Enzymes are an important part of the spectrum of catalysts available for synthetic chemistry. The synthetic applications of biocatalysts like oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases and other natural biocatalysts obtained from fruits (coconut, pinapple and lemon) will be discussed in this review and exemplified by the syntheses of interesting compounds.

View PDFchevron_right

Cited by

Industrial Biotransformation
Roland Wohlgemuth

Bioprocess, Bioseparation, and Cell Technology, 2009

View PDFchevron_right
Development of Sustainable Biocatalytic Reduction Processes for Organic Chemists
Roland Wohlgemuth

Synthetic Methods for Biologically Active Molecules, 2013

have received increased attention . Among the many synthetic methodologies available for reduction reactions, biocatalysis has become an attractive choice in organic chemistry due to progress in understanding fundamental structurefunction relationships and engineering of enzymes, their applications to organic synthesis, and developing novel enzymes to solve synthetic challenges in organic chemistry.

View PDFchevron_right
Green Production of Fine Chemicals by Isolated Enzymes
Roland Wohlgemuth

Tao/Bioctalysis Green Chemistry, 2011

View PDFchevron_right
Multienzyme Whole-Cell In Situ Biocatalysis for the Production of Flaviolin in Permeabilized Cells of Escherichia coli
Elmar Heinzle

ChemCatChem, 2012

View PDFchevron_right
Complexity reduction and opportunities in the design, integration and intensification of biocatalytic processes for metabolite synthesis
Roland Wohlgemuth

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

The biosynthesis of metabolites from available starting materials is becoming an ever important area due to the increasing demands within the life science research area. Access to metabolites is making essential contributions to analytical, diagnostic, therapeutic and different industrial applications. These molecules can be synthesized by the enzymes of biological systems under sustainable process conditions. The facile synthetic access to the metabolite and metabolite-like molecular space is of fundamental importance. The increasing knowledge within molecular biology, enzyme discovery and production together with their biochemical and structural properties offers excellent opportunities for using modular cell-free biocatalytic systems. This reduces the complexity of synthesizing metabolites using biological whole-cell approaches or by classical chemical synthesis. A systems biocatalysis approach can provide a wealth of optimized enzymes for the biosynthesis of already identified a...

View PDFchevron_right
580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
© 2025 Academia. All rights reserved