Simpler, greener and cheaper chemical synthesis
Traditionally, industrial chemical production has relied on harsh, often toxic and expensive reagents and solvents in processes requiring multiple steps. White biotechnology relying on powerful natural biocatalysts such as enzymes or whole-cell microorganisms can achieve multiple reaction steps in a single pot (cascade reactions) without the need to isolate intermediates. The EU-funded training project BIOCASCADE (Biocatalytic cascades to access valuable building blocks) focused on white biotechnology for the preparation of compounds with applications to natural product synthesis and building blocks for advanced materials. Extensive multidisciplinary training formed the foundation for the project's success. Team members developed a biocatalyst-based simultaneous oxidation-reduction cascade to transform natural α-amino acids into valuable α-hydroxy acids, important in commercial products, including exfoliators for skin care. Co-expression of the required biocatalysts in the same plasmid improved the methodology with a focus on industrial applications. This part of the work has resulted in two publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Another single-pot reaction attacked a particularly difficult reaction type for which no chemical or single-step enzymatic transformation is available, namely the para-vinylation of phenols. The team successfully combined carbon-carbon (C-C) bond-creating enzymes with C-nitrogen bond-breaking enzymes. The resulting specific and selective functionalisation of phenols provides access to highly valuable chemical building blocks. Given the groundbreaking nature of the result, a patent application has been filed and the results have been accepted in a peer-reviewed high impact journal. Finally, a four-step cascade combining C-C bond-creating enzymes and oxidoreductases has been established for the production of aryl lactic acids. These natural building blocks are of particular interest to the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Scientists are currently preparing a manuscript to share the results. BIOCASCADE has led to new one-pot synthesis methods for natural products based on white biotechnology. The results will have important impact on the competitiveness and sustainability of the EU chemical industry while facilitating development of more eco-friendly products for consumers.
Keywords
Chemical synthesis, building blocks, natural enzymes, white biotechnology, biocatalytic cascades
