Polysaccharide Degrading Biocatalysts

The transformation of polysaccharides into valuable compounds for health and industry requires the careful application of enzyme protocols and controlled biocatalysis. Polysaccharide-Degrading Biocatalysts provides a thorough grounding in these biocatalytic processes and their growing role in the depolymerization of polysaccharides, empowering researchers to discover and develop new enzyme-based approaches across pharmaceuticals, fuels, and food engineering. Here, over a dozen leading experts offer a close examination of structural polysaccharides, genetic modification of polysaccharides, polysaccharide degradation routes, pretreatments for enzymatic hydrolysis, hemicellulose-degrading enzymes, biomass valorization processes, oligosaccharide production, and enzyme immobilization for the hydrolysis of polysaccharides, among other topics and related research protocols. A final chapter considers perspectives and challenges in an evolving, carbohydrate-based economy. Describes the role of enzymes in the degradation of polysaccharides to obtain building blocks for biochemical processes Covers new tools for enzymatic evolution, research protocols, and process strategies contributing to large-scale applications Explores the use of polysaccharide hydrolysis products in the areas of pharmaceuticals, fuels, and food engineering Features chapter contributions from international experts

This book provides an actual overview of the structure, function, and application of carbohydrate-modifying biocatalysts. Carbohydrates have been disregarded for a long time by the scientific community, mainly due to their complex structure. Meanwhile, the situation changed with increasing knowledge about the key role carbohydrates play in biological processes such as recognition, signal transduction, immune responses, and others. An outcome of research activities in glycoscience is the development of several new pharmaceuticals against serious diseases such as malaria, cancer, and various storage diseases. Furthermore, the employment of carbohydrate-modifying biocatalysts—enzymes as well as microorganisms—will contribute significantly to the development of environmentally friendly processes boosting a shift of the chemical industry from petroleum- to bio-based production of chemicals from renewable resources. The updated content of the second edition of this book has been extended by discussing the current state of the art of using recombinantly expressed carbohydrate-modifying biocatalysts and the synthesis of minicellulosomes in connection with consolidated bioprocessing of lignocellulosic material. Furthermore, a synthetic biology approach for using DAHP-dependent aldolases to catalyze asymmetric aldol reactions is presented.

Carbohydrates have long been disregarded by the scientific community due to their complex structure and a lack of suitable experimental methods for structure determination. This book provides an overview of the structure, function, and application of carbohydrate-modifying biocatalysts. It explores glycoconjugates and carbohydrate-modifying enzymes

The application of enzymes or whole cells (fermentatively active or resting; microbial, plant, or animal) to carry out selective transformations of commercial importance is the central theme of industrial biocatalysis. Traditionally, biocatalysis has been in the domain of the life scientist or biochemical engineer. However, recent advances in this field have enabled biocatalytic processes to compete head on with, and in some cases out perform, conventional chemical processing. Chemo-biocatalytic systems are being developed thereby combining the most attractive features of bio catalysts, namely high specificity, with those of chemical catalysts, such as high reactivities and wide substrate specificities. Hence, synthetic chemists and chemical engineers are now beginning to use biocatalysts as highly selective reagents in chemical synthesis and processing. This book is about biocatalysts and their past, present, and potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. The con cept of the book did not emanate from a meeting. Rather, it is a compila tion of selected examples where biocatalysis either has already made a significant impact in the aforementioned industries, or has the potential to make a substantial contribution. I have been fortunate to have assembled contributions from world-class researchers in the field of biocatalysis. Their timely contributions are sincerely appreciated.

The whole range of biocatalysis, from a firm grounding in theoretical concepts to in-depth coverage of practical applications and future perspectives. The book not only covers reactions, products and processes with and from biological catalysts, but also the process of designing and improving such biocatalysts. One unique feature is that the fields of chemistry, biology and bioengineering receive equal attention, thus addressing practitioners and students from all three areas.

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 is a “how-to” guide focussing on commercially available enzymes and strains of microorganisms that are readily obtained from culture collections. The source 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. Contents include: Introduction to the application of biocatalysts in the pharma industry introduction to molecular biological techniques for biocatalyst development Lipase and protease methods including enzyme supports and dynamic kinetic resolutions Nitrile hydrolases and hydratases Alcohol dehydrogenases and co-factor recycling Epoxide hydrolases Amino acid synthesis Whole cell processes Other biocatalysts, including monoamineoxidases, aminotransterases, and lyases Practical Methods for Biocatalysis and Biotransformations is an essential text offering validated biocatalyst methods for researchers and postgraduate students in industry and academia.

With screening and selection of biocatalysts being undervalued in Europe in comparison with USA and especially Japan, the working parties "Applied Biocatalysis" and "Microbial Physiology" of the European Federation of Biotechnology decided to organise an international symposium entitled "New Frontiers in Screening for Microbial Biocatalysts". Novel screening techniques, microbial biodiversity, microbial physiology and molecular genetics were discussed to give better insights into possibilities and limitations of obtaining biocatalysts from nature. These proceedings provide a comprehensive overview of the present state-of-the-art in the field of biocatalysts screening.

Marine bioprospecting is a highly topical subject - in both applied and basic research - but, as yet, the marine ecosystem is a relatively unexplored source of natural bioactive substances with potential therapeutic activity. This book addresses the use of marine enzymes in biocatalysis through a series of chapters from leading scientists within academic and industrial fields. Biocatalytic processes can take advantage of the habitat-related properties of marine enzymes, such as salt tolerance, hyperthermostability, barophilicity, cold adaptivity, and so on, whilst also taking into consideration substrate specificity and affinity. These evolved properties are linked to the metabolic functions of the enzymes and to the ecological aspects of the natural source. New properties can also be discovered at the molecular level of catalysis, particularly concerning the stereochemical characteristics of products.Marine enzymes for biocatalysis initially examines the nature and level of interest in marine biological diversity, and outlines the fundamentals of biocatalysis. It goes on to detail sources of marine enzymes, and to analyse examples from both chemical and stereochemical viewpoints of catalysis, including microbial enzymes and animal or plant sources. The book goes on to explore the future potential of marine bioprospecting in biocatalysis. Compiles studies from leading scientists in a direct and accessible format. Includes practical descriptions of results, adding further details not often covered in formal articles Takes a molecular view which fully explains the enzymatic aspects of reactions, particularly regarding biocatalytic characteristics and descriptions of bioprocesses Selects examples of chemical and stereochemical aspects of enzymatic action with respect to known terrestrial counterparts