Biotransformations

The use of natural catalysts - enzymes - for the transformation of non-natural is not at all new: they have been used for more man-made organic compounds than one hundred years, employed either as whole cells, cell organelles or isolated enzymes [1]. Certainly, the object of most of the early research was totally different from that of the present day. Thus the elucidation of biochemical pathways and enzyme mechanisms was in the foreground of the reasearch some decades ago. It was mainly during the 1980s that the enormous potential of applying natural catalysts to transform non-natural organic compounds was recognized. What started as a trend in the late 1970s could almost be called a fashion in synthetic organic chemistry in the 1990s. Although the early euphoria during the 'gold rush' in this field seems to have eased somewhat, there is still no limit to be seen for the future development of such methods. As a result of this extensive, recent research, there have been an estimated 5000 papers published on the subject [2]. To collate these data as a kind of 'super-review' would clearly be an impossible task and, furthermore, such a hypothetical book would be unpalatable for the non-expert.

Industrial Biotransformations - a user-friendly and application-oriented up-to-date overview of one-step biotransformations of industrial importance. The data conferring each process is arranged in a convenient format to survey so that the processes can easily be compared. Each set of data is accompanied by key literature citations. As far as flow sheets of the processes are available, these are given reduced to their significant elements. An extensive index classified by substrates, products, enzymes, and companies provides direct access to each process organized in the order of enzyme classes. The reader will find all significant parameters characterizing the biotransformation itself and the process.

From the laboratory to full-scale commercial production, this reference provides a clear and in-depth analysis of bioreactor design and operation and encompasses critical aspects of the biocatalytic manufacturing process. It clarifies principles in reaction and biochemical engineering, synthetic and biotransformation chemistry, and biocell and enzy

Now in its seventh outstanding volume, Biotransformations has become established as a unique and important source for those involved in the discovery and development of new compounds. It broadly covers the scientific literature for the period 1987 to 1994. The series provides a complete survey of the biotransformations, in vertebrates, of the following: Pharmaceuticals; agrochemicals; food additives; environmental chemicals; industrial chemicals. Biotransformations provides a ready way of accessing information on the known pathways for the biotransformation of structurally-related compounds. Key functional groups provide an index-related procedure for retrieving information on compounds of interest. A further index allows the retrieval of examples of specific biochemical reactions which may have wider application. Each volume corresponds roughly with the scientific literature published during a calendar year. Each volume contains a review chapter which discusses examples of novel biotransformations, species differences, stereochemical aspects and mechanisms of toxicity associated with specific biotransformations.

Biocatalysts are increasingly used by chemists engaged in fine chemical synthesis within both industry and academia. Today, there exists a huge choice of high-tech enzymes and whole cell biocatalysts, which add enormously to the repertoire of synthetic possibilities. Practical Methods for Biocatalysis and Biotransformations 2 is a "how-to" guide that focuses on the practical applications of enzymes and strains of microorganisms that are readily obtained or derived from culture collections. The sources of starting materials and reagents, hints, tips and safety advice (where appropriate) are given to ensure, as far as possible, that the procedures are reproducible. Comparisons to alternative methodology are given and relevant references to the primary literature are cited. This second volume – which can be used on its own or in combination with the first volume - concentrates on new applications and new enzyme families reported since the first volume. Contents include: introduction to recent developments and future needs in biocatalysts and synthetic biology in industry reductive amination enoate reductases for reduction of electron deficient alkenes industrial carbonyl reduction regio- and stereo- selective hydroxylation oxidation of alcohols selective oxidation industrial hydrolases and related enzymes transferases for alkylation, glycosylation and phosphorylation C-C bond formation and decarboxylation halogenation/dehalogenation/heteroatom oxidation tandem and sequential multi-enzymatic syntheses Practical Methods for Biocatalysis and Biotransformations 2 is an essential collection of biocatalytic methods for chemical synthesis which will find a place on the bookshelves of synthetic organic chemists, pharmaceutical chemists, and process R&D chemists in industry and academia.

Whereas the hydrolases such as proteases, esterases and lipases are sufficiently well researched to be applied in every standard laboratory, other types of enzymes are still waiting to be discovered with respect to their applicability in organic-chemistry transformations on a preparative scale. This latter point is stressed here, with the focus on the newcomer-enzymes'which show great synthetic potential.

From the laboratory to full-scale commercial production, this reference provides a clear and in-depth analysis of bioreactor design and operation and encompasses critical aspects of the biocatalytic manufacturing process. It clarifies principles in reaction and biochemical engineering, synthetic and biotransformation chemistry, and biocell and enzyme kinetics for successful applications of biocatalysis and bioprocess technologies in the food, chiral drug, vitamin, pharmaceutical, and animal feed industries. Studying reactions from small to supramolecules, this reference provides an abundant supply of end-of-chapter problems to sharpen understanding of key concepts presented in the text.

The use of natural catalysts - enzymes - for the transformation of non-natural man-made organic compounds is not at all new: they have been used for more than one hundred years, employed either as whole cells, cell organelles or isolated enzymes [1]. Certainly, the object of most of the early research was totally different from that of the present day. Thus the elucidation of biochemical pathways and enzyme mechanisms was the main reason for research some decades ago. It was mainly during the 1980s that the enormous potential of applying natural catalysts to transform non-natural organic compounds was recognized. What started as a trend in the late 1970s could almost be called a fashion in synthetic organic chemistry in the 1990s. Although the early euphoria during the 'gold rush' in this field seems to have eased somewhat, there is still no limit to be seen for the future development of such methods. As a result of this extensive, recent research, there have been all estimated 8000 papers published on the subject [2-14]. To collate these data as a kind of 'super-review' would clearly be an impossible task and, furthermore, such a hypothetical book would be unpalatable for the non-expert.

The development of new asymmetric catalytic methods is of fundamental importance to industrial synthetic chemistry. The demand for optically pure synthetic intermediates and the drive to adopt greener methods of synthesis have stimulated a growing interest in biocatalysis as a selective and environmentally benign synthetic technique. Practical Biotransformations: A Beginner's Guide provides an introduction to microbes and enzymes and demonstrates their practical applications in synthetic organic chemistry. Designed as a laboratory manual, this user-friendly guide discusses standard laboratory techniques, with appropriate advice on aspects of microbial practice and associated safety. Topics covered include: An introduction to equipment in a biotransformations laboratory An overview of biocatalyst sources Maintenance and growth of biocatalysts Example biotransformations using commercially available microbes and enzymes Basic gene cloning and the use of ‘designer’ biocatalysts This book will be a valuable resource for synthetic organic chemists with little or no experience of biochemistry or microbiology. It is the author’s hope that this text will inspire readers to consider biocatalytic methods as real alternatives to traditional synthetic solutions.

This book addresses the use of ionic liquids in biotransformation and organocatalysis. Its major parts include: an overview of the fundamentals of ionic liquids and their interactions with proteins and enzymes; the use of ILs in biotransformations; non-solvent applications such as additives, membranes, substrate anchoring, and the use of ILs in organocatalysis (from solvents to co-catalysts and new reactivities, as well as non-solvent applications such as anchoring and immobilization).