Production of (R)-(−)-mandelic acid with nitrilase immobilized on D155 resin modified by l -lysine

Green synthesis aspects of (R)-(-)-mandelic acid; a potent pharmaceutically active agent and its future prospects

(R)-(-)-mandelic acid is an important carboxylic acid known for its numerous potential applications in the pharmaceutical industry as it is an ideal starting material for the synthesis of antibiotics, antiobesity drugs and antitumor agents. In past few decades, the synthesis of (R)-(-)-mandelic acid has been undertaken mainly through the chemical route. However, chemical synthesis of optically pure (R)-(-)-mandelic acid is difficult to achieve at an industrial scale. Therefore, its microbe mediated production has gained considerable attention as it exhibits many merits over the chemical approaches. The present review focuses on various biotechnological strategies for the production of (R)-(-)-mandelic acid through microbial biotransformation and enzymatic catalysis; in particular, an analysis and comparison of the synthetic methods and different enzymes. The wild type as well as recombinant microbial strains for the production of (R)-(-)-mandelic acid have been elucidated. In addition, different microbial strategies used for maximum bioconversion of mandelonitrile into (R)-(-)-mandelic acid are discussed in detail with regard to higher substrate tolerance and maximum bioconversion.HighlightsMandelonitrile, mandelamide and o-chloromandelonitrile can be used as substrates to produce (R)-(-)-mandelic acid by enzymes.Three enzymes (nitrilase, nitrile hydratase and amidase) are systematically introduced for production of (R)-(-)-mandelic acid.Microbial transformation is able to produce optically pure (R)-(-)-mandelic acid with 100% productive yield.

Preparation, characterization and stability of cross linked nitrilase aggregates (nitrilase-CLEAs) for hydroxylation of 2-chloroisonicotinonitrile to 2-chloroisonicotinic acid

Nitrilases capable of performing hydroxylation of 2-chloroisonicotinonitrile to 2-chloroisonicotinic acid were screened, and ES-NIT-102 was the best nitrilase for said biotransformation. Nitrilase was immobilized as cross linked enzyme aggregates (nitrilase-CLEAs) by fractional precipitation with iso-propanol, and cross linked with glutaraldehyde. The nitrilase-CLEAs prepared with optimized 35 mM glutaraldehyde for 120 min cross linking time had 82.36 ± 4.45% residual activity, and displayed type-II structural CLEAs formation as confirmed by particle size, SEM, FTIR, and SDS-PAGE analysis. Nitrilase-CLEAs had superior pH and temperature stability, showed a shift in optimal temperature by 5 °C, and retained nearly 1.5 to 1.7 folds activity over free nitrilase at 50 °C and 55 °C after more than 9 h incubation. Nitrilase-CLEAs showed reduced affinity and decreased conversion of substrate as indicated by slightly higher K_m values by 5.19% and reduced V_max by 17%. Furthermore, these nitrilase-CLEAs showed 98% conversion, 94.72 g/L product formation, and 83.30% recovery after 24 h when used for hydroxylation of 2-chloroisonicotinonitrile to 2-chloroisonicotinic acid. Nitrilase-CLEAs were catalytically active for 3 cycles showcasing 81% conversion, 75.53 g/L product formation and 66.42% yield. The recovered product was confirmed by HPLC, FTIR, LC-MS, and ¹H NMR, and displayed > 99% purity.

Production of (R)-mandelic acid from styrene, L-phenylalanine, glycerol, or glucose via cascade biotransformations

(R)-mandelic acid is an industrially important chemical, especially used for producing antibiotics. Its chemical synthesis often uses highly toxic cyanide to produce its racemic form, followed by kinetic resolution with 50% maximum yield. Here we report a green and sustainable biocatalytic method for producing (R)-mandelic acid from easily available styrene, biobased L-phenylalanine, and renewable feedstocks such as glycerol and glucose, respectively. An epoxidation-hydrolysis-double oxidation artificial enzyme cascade was developed to produce (R)-mandelic acid at 1.52 g/L from styrene with > 99% ee. Incorporation of deamination and decarboxylation into the above cascade enables direct conversion of L-phenylalanine to (R)-mandelic acid at 913 mg/L and > 99% ee. Expressing the five-enzyme cascade in an L-phenylalanine-overproducing E. coli NST74 strain led to the direct synthesis of (R)-mandelic acid from glycerol or glucose, affording 228 or 152 mg/L product via fermentation. Moreover, coupling of E. coli cells expressing L-phenylalanine biosynthesis pathway with E. coli cells expressing the artificial enzyme cascade enabled the production of 760 or 455 mg/L (R)-mandelic acid from glycerol or glucose. These simple, safe, and green methods show great potential in producing (R)-mandelic acid from renewable feedstocks.

Enzymatic preparation of oxidized viscose fibers-based biosorbent modified with ε-polylysine for dyes removal and microbial inactivation

A novel fiber-based biosorbent for dyes removal and microbial inactivation was prepared by enzymatic oxidization of viscose fibers and further modification with ε-polylysine. Glucose oxidase (GOx) was first employed as the enzyme for oxidation of viscose fibers. The consequences illustrated that the hydroxyl group on C1 position of viscose fibers was successfully oxidized with oxidation ratio of 2.43 ± 0.31%. Subsequently, ε-polylysine with average molecular weight of 4.44 ± 1.13 KDa and antimicrobial activity to E. coli of 90.48 ± 1.64 was modified with oxidized viscose fibers by lipase. Experimental results showed that oxidized viscose fibers were successfully modified with ε-polylysine with optimum degree of modification (DM) of 13.56 ± 1.05%. This oxidized viscose fiber modified with ε-polylysine (OVF-PL) displayed good dyes adsorption (or dyes removal) capacity for both anionic and cationic dyes, especially for anion dyes. Furthermore, OVF-PL showed excellent antimicrobial activity against E. coli and B. subtilis, particularly for E. coli, with GIB of 92.65%. Such fiber-based may offer a new pathway for preparing economical and efficient biosorbent for environmental remedy purpose.

Integrated Utilization of Red Radish for the Efficient Production of High-Purity Procyanidin Dimers

Red radish was extracted by methanol to obtain crude radish procyanidin extracts. The purity of procyanidin (PP) and procyanidin dimers (PD) of crude radish procyanidin extracts under different ratios of methanol to radish was optimized to achieve the best extraction performance. Then the crude radish procyanidin extracts was, respectively, processed six macroporous resins separation to separate radish procyanidin oligomers (RPO) and polymers (RPP). Depolymerization of radish procyanidin polymers (RPP) into oligomers was then conducted. N-Acetylneuraminate lyase (NAL) was first used as the enzyme to depolymerize RPP. The depolymerization yield (DY) under different depolymerized conditions was also investigated. Results showed the DY of RPP would achieve 53.24 ± 0.35% at the best conditions. Then the high-purity procyanidin dimers was prepared by depolymerized procyanidin oligomers and PRO. Additionally, the chemical structure of the preparative radish procyanidin dimers was elucidated by high-resolution mass spectrometry and one- and two-dimensional NMR.