Novel Enzyme And Whole Cell Biocatalysts

The concept of a circular economy relies on waste reduction, valorization, and recycling. Global trends for “green” synthesis of chemicals have positioned the field of enzyme technology and biocatalysis (multi-enzymes and whole-cells) as an alternative for the synthesis of more social- and environmentally-responsible bio-based chemicals. Recent advances in synthetic biology, computational tools, and metabolic engineering have supported the discovery of new enzymes and the rational design of whole-cell biocatalysts. In this book, we highlight these current advances in the field of biocatalysis, with special emphasis on novel enzymes and whole-cell biocatalysts for applications in several industrial biotechnological applications.

The concept of a circular economy relies on waste reduction, valorization, and recycling. Global trends for “green” synthesis of chemicals have positioned the field of enzyme technology and biocatalysis (multi-enzymes and whole-cells) as an alternative for the synthesis of more social- and environmentally-responsible bio-based chemicals. Recent advances in synthetic biology, computational tools, and metabolic engineering have supported the discovery of new enzymes and the rational design of whole-cell biocatalysts. In this book, we highlight these current advances in the field of biocatalysis, with special emphasis on novel enzymes and whole-cell biocatalysts for applications in several industrial biotechnological applications.

Enzymes and whole cells are able to catalyze the most complex chemical processes under the most benign experimental and environmental conditions. In this way, enzymes and cells could be excellent catalysts for a much more sustainable chemical industry. However, enzymes and cells also have some limitations for nonbiological applications: fine chemistry, food chemistry, analysis, therapeutics, and so on. Enzymes and cells may be unstable, difficult to handle under nonconventional conditions, poorly selective toward synthetic substrates, and so forth. From this point of view, the transformation—from the laboratory to industry—of chemical processes catalyzed by enzymes and cells may be one of the most complex and exciting goals in biotechnology. For many industrial applications, enzymes and cells have to be immobilized, via very simple and cost-effective protocols, in order to be re-used over very long periods of time. From this point of view, immobilization, simplicity, and stabilization have to be strongly related concepts. Over the last 30 years, a number of protocols for the immobilization of cells and enzymes have been reported in scientific literature. However, only very few protocols are simple and useful enough to greatly improve the functional properties of enzymes and cells, activity, stability, selectivity, and related properties.

This second edition of a bestselling textbook offers an instructive and comprehensive overview of our current knowledge of biocatalysis and enzyme technology. The book now contains about 40% more printed content. Three chapters are completely new, while the others have been thoroughly updated, and a section with problems and solutions as well as new case studies have been added. Following an introduction to the history of enzyme applications, the text goes on to cover in depth enzyme mechanisms and kinetics, production, recovery, characterization and design by protein engineering. The authors treat a broad range of applications of soluble and immobilized biocatalysts, including wholecell systems, the use of non-aqueous reaction systems, applications in organic synthesis, bioreactor design and reaction engineering. Methods to estimate the sustainability, important internet resources and their evaluation, and legislation concerning the use of biocatalysts are also covered.

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.

Whole-cell biocatalysis is a promising and emerging field of biological science that is mostly based on advancements in biosystems engineering for the production of useful products such as chemicals, fuels, and pharmaceuticals. It is a unique platform that provides an efficient catalytic system at affordable cost and with low maintenance. Recent studies have proven that whole-cell catalysis is very useful in conducting many complex and complicated chemical reactions that could be executed with greater ease and in an eco-friendly manner in ambient conditions with zero/minimal ecological effect. This has made whole-cell biocatalysis very popular and a center of significance in the field of modern biological catalysis. This new volume offers a comprehensive understanding of whole-cell biocatalysis, beginning with an introduction and an overview of relevant tools and techniques. It presents the basic as well as the advanced concepts of whole-cell biocatalysis, thus acting as a complete guide for the reader. It looks at the promising developments that have taken place in the past decade and discusses the application of computational tools, the use of metabolic flux systems, and the role of metabolic networks for the cell system development for whole-cell catalysis. The chapters explore whole-cell biocatalysis for the production of chemicals, of fuels, and for environmental restoration, with case studies and success stories that showcase new developments in the technology. This volume provides a valuable presentation of whole-cell biocatalysis for graduate students, faculty, industry professionals, and others working in biochemistry and bio-systems engineering.

Here, leading contributors from the forefront of this exciting technology present authoritative and timely reviews on the state of the art of biocatalysis. They cover the whole spectrum from the discovery of novel enzymes - by modern screening, evolutionary or immunological approaches - through immobilization techniques for technical processes, to their use in the asymmetric synthesis of important target compounds.