Microbial Lipases and Their Potential in the Production of Pharmaceutical Building Blocks

Processes involving lipases in obtaining active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are crucial to increase the sustainability of the industry. Despite their lower production cost, microbial lipases are striking for their versatile catalyzing reactions beyond their physiological role. In the context of taking advantage of microbial lipases in reactions for the synthesis of API building blocks, this review focuses on: (i) the structural origins of the catalytic properties of microbial lipases, including the results of techniques such as single particle monitoring (SPT) and the description of its selectivity beyond the Kazlauskas rule as the “Mirror-Image Packing” or the “Key Region(s) rule influencing enantioselectivity” (KRIE); (ii) immobilization methods given the conferred operative advantages in industrial applications and their modulating capacity of lipase properties; and (iii) a comprehensive description of microbial lipases use as a conventional or promiscuous catalyst in key reactions in the organic synthesis (Knoevenagel condensation, Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) reactions, Markovnikov additions, Baeyer–Villiger oxidation, racemization, among others). Finally, this review will also focus on a research perspective necessary to increase microbial lipases application development towards a greener industry.

The optimized biocatalytic synthesis of (S)-methyl 2-chlorobutanoate by Acinetobacter sp. lipase

Epilepsy is a chronic disease caused by sudden abnormal discharge of brain neurons, leading to transient brain dysfunction. Levetiracetam, developed by the UCB company in Belgium, is an effective drug for the treatment of epilepsy. (S)-Methyl 2-chlorobutanoate is an important chiral building block of levetiracetam, which has attracted a great deal of attention. In this study, a strain of lipase-produced Acinetobacter sp. zjutfet-1 was screened from soil samples. At optimized conditions for fermentation and biocatalysis, the bacterial lipase exhibited high catalytic activity for hydrolysis and stereoselectivity toward racemic methyl 2-chlorobutanoate. When the enzymatic reaction was carried out in 6% of racemic substrate, the enantiomeric excess (e.e._s ) reached more than 95%, with a yield of over 86%. Therefore, this lipase can efficiently resolve racemic methyl 2-chlorobutanoate and obtain (S)-methyl 2-chlorobutanoate, which presents great potential in the industrial production of levetiracetam.

Capillary electrophoresis for enzyme-based studies: Applications to lipases and kinases

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a powerful technique continuously expanding into new application fields. One of these applications involves the study of enzymes, their catalytic activities and the alteration of this activity by specific ligands. In this review, two model enzymes, lipases and kinases, will be used since they differ substantially in their modes of action, reaction requirements and applications making them perfect subjects to demonstrate the advantages and limitations of CE-based enzymatic assays. Indeed, the ability to run CE in various operation modes and hyphenation to different detectors is essential for lipase-based studies. Additionally, the low sample consumption provided by CE promotes it as a promising technique to assay human and viral nucleoside kinases. Undeniably, these are rarely commercially available enzymes and must be frequently produced in the laboratory, a process which requires special sets of skills. CE-based lipase and kinase reactions can be performed outside the capillary (pre-capillary) where the reactants are mixed in a vial prior to their separation or, inside the capillary (in-capillary) where the reactants are mixed before the electrophoretic analysis. These enzyme-based applications of CE will be compared to those of liquid chromatography-based applications in terms of advantages and limitations. Binding assays based on affinity CE and the compelling microscale thermophoresis (MST) will be briefly presented as they allow a broad understanding of the molecular mechanism behind ligand binding and of the resulting modulation in activity.

Thermostable lipases and their dynamics of improved enzymatic properties

Thermal stability is one of the most desirable characteristics in the search for novel lipases. The search for thermophilic microorganisms for synthesising functional enzyme biocatalysts with the ability to withstand high temperature, and capacity to maintain their native state in extreme conditions opens up new opportunities for their biotechnological applications. Thermophilic organisms are one of the most favoured organisms, whose distinctive characteristics are extremely related to their cellular constituent particularly biologically active proteins. Modifications on the enzyme structure are critical in optimizing the stability of enzyme to thermophilic conditions. Thermostable lipases are one of the most favourable enzymes used in food industries, pharmaceutical field, and actively been studied as potential biocatalyst in biodiesel production and other biotechnology application. Particularly, there is a trade-off between the use of enzymes in high concentration of organic solvents and product generation. Enhancement of the enzyme stability needs to be achieved for them to maintain their enzymatic activity regardless the environment. Various approaches on protein modification applied since decades ago conveyed a better understanding on how to improve the enzymatic properties in thermophilic bacteria. In fact, preliminary approach using advanced computational analysis is practically conducted before any modification is being performed experimentally. Apart from that, isolation of novel extremozymes from various microorganisms are offering great frontier in explaining the crucial native interaction within the molecules which could help in protein engineering. In this review, the thermostability prospect of lipases and the utility of protein engineering insights into achieving functional industrial usefulness at their high temperature habitat are highlighted. Similarly, the underlying thermodynamic and structural basis that defines the forces that stabilize these thermostable lipase is discussed. KEY POINTS: • The dynamics of lipases contributes to their non-covalent interactions and structural stability. • Thermostability can be enhanced by well-established genetic tools for improved kinetic efficiency. • Molecular dynamics greatly provides structure-function insights on thermodynamics of lipase.

Engineering and Performance of Ruthenium Complexes Immobilized on Mesoporous Siliceous Materials as Racemization Catalysts

Dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) is one of the most attractive routes to enantioselective synthesis, and ruthenium complexes are often applied as racemization catalysts. Two substituted cyclopentadienyl ruthenium complexes were immobilized covalently and non-covalently on mesoporous silica of mesocellular foam (MCF) and Santa Barbara Amorphous (SBA)-15 type functionalized with a 3 carbon spacer and 4-(chloromethyl)-N-amidobenzoate moiety. The catalysts were studied in a model reaction of secondary alcohol racemization. The immobilization decreased catalyst activity, considerably more for SBA-15 than for MCFs, and complete racemization of 1-phenylethanol was achieved within 24 h with the MCF-supported catalyst. The catalyst could be recovered and reused, thus paving the way for further development of the DKR process. The synthesized materials were fully characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, thermogravimetry analysis, inductively cou-pled plasma optical emission spectrometry, and nitrogen adsorption at 77 K.

Purification and Properties of an Esterase from Bacillus licheniformis and it’s Application in Synthesis of Octyl Acetate

Background:

Esterase plays a major role in the degradation of natural materials, industrial pollutants and also provides an immense contribution to the eco-friendly approaches in various industrial applications.

Objective:

In the present study, extracellular esterase from bacterial isolate Bacillus licheniformis was purified, characterized and used in the synthesis of octyl acetate.

Methods:

Purification of esterase from Bacillus licheniformis was achieved using Sephadex G-75 column chromatography. Gas chromatography was used to analyze the octyl acetate synthesis.

Results:

The enzyme was salted out using ammonium sulphate precipitation and 60-70% saturation gave maximum specific activity of the enzyme during precipitation. A purification fold of 6.46 and yield of 9.69% was achieved when esterase from Bacillus licheniformis was purified using Sephadex G-75 column chromatography. Native as well as SDS-PAGE analysis gave a single band of 42 kDa. This showed that the enzyme was purified to homogeneity and it was a monomer with molecular weight of 42 kDa. Biochemical characterization of the enzyme revealed that it had optimum temperature of 45°C in 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer of pH 8.0. On optimizing different parameters, such as molar ratio of reactants, incubation time, temperature, and amount of protein, the % yield of octyl acetate was found to be 77.3%.

Conclusion:

In this work, simple method was used to purify esterase and the enzyme was further used in producing esters/products of commercial value within a reasonably short period of 12 h with a maximum yield of 77.3%.

Cutinases as stereoselective catalysts: Specific activity and enantioselectivity of cutinases and lipases for menthol and its analogs

The specific activity and enantioselectivity of immobilized cutinases from Aspergillus oryzae (AoC) and Humicola insolens (HiC) were compared with those of lipases from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL), Rhizomucor miehei (RML) and Lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB) for menthol and its analogs that include isopulegol, trans-2-tert-butylcyclohexanol (2TBC), and dihydrocarveol (DHC). Common features of these alcohols are two bulky substituents: a cyclohexyl ring and an alkyl substituent. Dissimilarities are that the alkyl group reside at different positions or have dissimilar structures. The aim was to develop an understanding at a molecular level of similarities and differences in the catalytic behavior of the selected cutinases and lipases as a function of substrate structural elements. The experimental results reflect the (-)-enantioselectivity for AoC, HiC, TLL, and RML, while CALB is only active on DHC with (+)-enantioselectivity. In most cases, AoC has the highest activity while HiC is significantly more active than other enzymes on 2TBC. The E values of AoC, HiC, TLL, and RML for menthol are 27.8, 16.5, 155, and 125, respectively. HiC has a higher activity (>10-fold) on (-)-2TBC than AoC while they exhibit similar activities on menthol. Docking results reveal that the bulky group adjacent to the hydroxyl group determines the enantioselectivity of AoC, HiC, TLL, and RML. Amino acid residues that dominate the enantioselectivity of these enzymes are AoC's Phe195 aromatic ring; HiC's hydrophobic Leu 174 and Ile 169 groups; TLL's ring structures of Trp89, His258 and Tyr21; and Trp88 for RML. Results of this study highlight that cutinases can provide important advantages relative to lipases for enantioselective transformation, most notably with bulky and sterically hindered substrates.

Metagenomics: Is it a powerful tool to obtain lipases for application in biocatalysis?

In recent years, metagenomic strategies have been widely used to isolate and identify new enzymes from uncultivable components of microbial communities. Among these enzymes, various lipases have been obtained from metagenomic libraries from different environments and characterized. Although many of these lipases have characteristics that could make them interesting for application in biocatalysis, relatively little work has been done to evaluate their potential to catalyze industrially important reactions. In the present article, we highlight the latest research on lipases obtained through metagenomic tools, focusing on studies of activity and stability and investigations of application in biocatalysis. We also discuss the challenges of metagenomic approaches for the bioprospecting of new lipases.

Biocatalysis as Useful Tool in Asymmetric Synthesis: An Assessment of Recently Granted Patents (2014–2019)

The broad interdisciplinary nature of biocatalysis fosters innovation, as different technical fields are interconnected and synergized. A way to depict that innovation is by conducting a survey on patent activities. This paper analyses the intellectual property activities of the last five years (2014–2019) with a specific focus on biocatalysis applied to asymmetric synthesis. Furthermore, to reflect the inventive and innovative steps, only patents that were granted during that period are considered. Patent searches using several keywords (e.g., enzyme names) have been conducted by using several patent engine servers (e.g., Espacenet, SciFinder, Google Patents), with focus on granted patents during the period 2014–2019. Around 200 granted patents have been identified, covering all enzyme types. The inventive pattern focuses on the protection of novel protein sequences, as well as on new substrates. In some other cases, combined processes, multi-step enzymatic reactions, as well as process conditions are the innovative basis. Both industries and academic groups are active in patenting. As a conclusion of this survey, we can assert that biocatalysis is increasingly recognized as a useful tool for asymmetric synthesis and being considered as an innovative option to build IP and protect synthetic routes.

Thermostable enzymes and polysaccharides produced by thermophilic bacteria isolated from Bulgarian hot springs

Thermostable enzymes (thermozymes) have been recognized as extremophilic compounds with a greatest biotechnological importance in different industrial areas. Quite recently exopolysaccharides (EPSs) synthesized by thermophiles became an object of increased research interest due to their unique properties appropriate for some specific industrial needs. Thermophilic producers of biotechnologically valuable enzymes and novel EPS were isolated by our group from Bulgarian thermal springs with a diverse geotectonic origin and different water properties. Laboratory reactor processes for their production were developed in batch and continuous cultures. Some of the synthesized thermostable enzymes were among the first described in their groups, for example, the single known thermostable gellan lyase that demonstrated specific activity higher than that of the mesophilic enzymes. Isolated by us thermostable xylanase was able to degrade more than 60% of beechwood xylan in a coprocess with an archaeal β-xylosidase. Lipase purified by us was active between 55 and 90°C with an optimum at 75-80°C in a large pH range. It was able to degrade a broad range of substrates. Isolates from Bulgarian hot springs synthesized EPS with novel composition and high thermostability. Thus, Bulgarian hot springs harbor a wide set of thermophilic producers of novel enzymes and EPS with potential for a large number of biotechnological applications.

Click reaction-aided enzymatic kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols

A new, efficient lipase-mediated kinetic resolution–click-reaction-based procedure is presented for the production of both enantiomers of various 1-(hetero)aromatic ethanols.