Eighteen known and putative reductases from baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were tested for the ability to reduce a series of alpha-chloro-beta-keto esters. In nearly all cases, it was possible to produce at least two of the four possible alpha-chloro-beta-hydroxy ester diastereomers with high optical purities. The utility of this approach was demonstrated by reducing ethyl 2-chloroacetoacetate to the corresponding syn-(2R,3S)-alcohol on a multigram scale using whole cells of an Escherichia coli strain overexpressing a single yeast reductase identified from the screening studies.

[Reaction: see text]. Two enantiocomplementary bakers' yeast enzymes reduced an alpha-chloro-beta-keto ester to yield precursors for both enantiomers of the N-benzoyl phenylisoserine Taxol side chain. After base-mediated ring closure of the chlorohydrin enantiomers, the epoxides were converted directly to the oxazoline form of the target molecules using a Ritter reaction with benzonitrile. These were hydrolyzed to the ethyl ester form of the Taxol side chain enantiomers under acidic conditions. This brief and atom-efficient route to both target enantiomers demonstrates both the synthetic utility of individual yeast reductases and the power of genomic strategies in making these catalysts available.

No abstract

One of the major drawbacks for many biocatalysts is their poor stability under industrial process conditions. A particularly interesting example is the supply of oxygen to biooxidation reactions, catalyzed by oxidases, oxygenases or alcohol dehydrogenases coupled with NAD(P)H (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) oxidases, which all require the continuous supply of molecular oxygen as an oxidant or electron acceptor. Commonly, oxygen is supplied to the bioreactor by air sparging. To ensure sufficient oxygen transfer from the gas to the liquid phase, stirring is essential to disperse the gas bubbles and create high gas-liquid interfacial area. Studies indicate that the presence of gas-liquid interface induces enzyme deactivation by protein unfolding which then readily aggregates and can subsequently precipitate. This contribution has examined the effects of stirring and the presence of gas-liquid interface on the kinetic stability of water-forming NAD(P)H oxidase (NOX) (EC1.6.3.2). These effects were studied separately and a bubble column apparatus was successfully employed to investigate the influence of gas-liquid interfaces on enzyme stability. Results showed that NOX deactivation increases in proportion to the gas-liquid interfacial area. While air enhances the rate of stability loss compared to nitrogen, stirring causes faster loss of activity in comparison to a bubble column. Finally, deracemization of 1phenylethanol, using a coupled alcohol dehydrogenase /NADH oxidase system (ADH/NOX), proceeded with a higher rate in the bubble column than in quiescent or in a stirred solution, although, inactivation was also accelerated in the bubble column over a quiescent solution.

No abstract