Towards Greener and More Cost-efficient Biosynthesis of Pharmaceuticals and Fragrance Molecules

Authors

  • Ana I. Benítez Mateos Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, CH-8093 Zurich

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2024.222

PMID:

38676613

Keywords:

Biocatalysis, Enzyme immobilization, Flow chemistry, Sustainability

Abstract

Enzymes are natural catalysts which are gaining momentum in chemical synthesis due to their exquisiteselectivity and their biodegradability. However, the cost-efficiency and the sustainability of the overall biocatalytic process must be enhanced to unlock completely the potential of enzymes for industrial applications. To reach this goal, enzyme immobilization and the integration into continuous flow reactors have been the cornerstone of our research. We showed key examples of the advantages of those tools for the biosynthesis of antivirals, anticancer drugs, and valuable fragrance molecules. By combining new strategies to immobilize biocatalysts, innovative bioengineering approaches, and process development, the performance of the reactions could be boosted up to 100-fold.

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Published

2024-04-24