Enantioselective synthesis of (R)-phenylephrine by Serratia marcescens BCRC10948 cells that homologously express SM_SDR

A short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase from Serratia marcescens BCRC10948, SM_SDR, has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli for the bioconversion of 1-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(methylamino) ethanone (HPMAE) to (R)-phenylephrine[(R)-PE]. However, only 5.11mM (R)-PE was obtained from 10mM HPMAE after a 9h conversion in the previous report. To improve the biocatalytic efficiency, the homologous expression of the SM_SDR in S. marcescens BCRC10948 was achieved using the T5 promoter for expression. By using 2% glycerol as carbon source, we found that 8.00±0.15mM of (R)-PE with more than 99% enantiomeric excess was produced from 10mM HPMAE after 12h conversion at 30°C and pH 7.0. More importantly, by using 50mM HPMAE as the substrate, 23.78±0.84mM of (R)-PE was produced after a 12h conversion with the productivity and the conversion yield of 1.98mmol (R)-PE/lh and 47.50%, respectively. The recombinant S. marcescens cells could be recycled 6 times for the production of (R)-PE, and the bioconversion efficiency remained at 85% when compared to that at the first cycle. Our data indicated that a high conversion efficiency of HPMAE to (R)-PE could be achieved using S. marcescens BCRC10948 cells that homologously express the SM_SDR.

Enhanced bioconversion rate and released substrate inhibition in (R)-phenylephrine whole-cell bioconversion via partial acetone treatment

An approach was developed to enhance the efficiency for the bioconversion of 1-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(methyamino)-ethanone to (R)-phenylephrine. The strain Serratia marcescens N10612, giving the benefit of 99% enantiomeric excess in (R)-PE conversion, was used. The fermentation was devised to harvest cells with high hydrophobic prodigiosin content inside the cells. Then, the partial acetone extraction was applied to remove prodigiosin from the cells. The treatment was found to increase the cells conversion rate without loss of the cells NADPH redox system. When using 50% (v/v) acetone for 5min, the processed cells can give a specific conversion rate of 16.03μmol/h/g-cells. As compared the treated cells with cells under the basal medium, the maximum reaction rate (Vmax) increased from 6.69 to 10.27 (μmol/h/g-cells), the dissociation constant (Km) decreased from 0.236 to 0.167mM and the substrate inhibition constant (KSi) increased from 0.073 to 1.521mM. The 20-fold increase in substrate inhibition constant referred to a great release from the substrate inhibition for the use of S. marcescens N10612 in the bioconversion, which would greatly benefit the bioconversion to be industrialized.

Stereoselective synthesis of (R)-phenylephrine using recombinant Escherichia coli cells expressing a novel short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase gene from Serratia marcescens BCRC 10948

(R)-Phenylephrine [(R)-PE] is an α1-adrenergic receptor agonist and is widely used as a nasal decongestant to treat the common cold without the side effects of other ephedrine adrenergic drugs. We identified a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SM_SDR) from Serratia marcescens BCRC 10948 that was able to convert 1-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(methylamino) ethanone (HPMAE) into (R)-PE. The SM_SDR used NADPH and NADH as cofactors with specific activities of 17.35±0.71 and 5.57±0.07mU/mg protein, respectively, at 30°C and pH 7.0, thereby indicating that this enzyme could be categorized as an NADPH-preferring short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase. Escherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3) expressing SM_SDR could convert HPMAE into (R)-PE with more than 99% enantiomeric excess. The productivity and conversion yield were 0.57mmolPE/lh and 51.06%, respectively, using 10mM HPMAE. Fructose was the most effective carbon source for the conversion of HPMAE to (R)-PE.