Protein engineering techniques have been available for over two decades beginning with the development of methods for genetic engineering. Since that time, the engineering of enzymes has advanced rapidly along with a revolution in the range and efficiency of new techniques and strategies for designing and evolving proteins in the laboratory. While recent advances in high-throughput screening te...

Styrene can efficiently be oxidized to (S)-styrene oxide by recombinant Escherichia coli expressing the styrene monooxygenase genes styAB from Pseudomonas sp. strain VLB120. Targeting microbial physiology during whole-cell redox biocatalysis, we investigated the interdependency of styrene epoxidation, growth, and carbon metabolism on the basis of mass balances obtained from continuous two-liqui...

This perspective reviews the current status and prospects of biocatalysis in ionic liquids.

Enzymes are the most proficient catalysts, offering much more competitive processes compared to chemical catalysts. The number of industrial applications for enzymes has exploded in recent years, mainly owing to advances in protein engineering technology and environmental and economic necessities. Herein, we review recent progress in enzyme biocatalysis, and discuss the trends and strategies th...

Biocatalysis has become a powerful tool for the synthesis of high-value compounds, particularly so in the case of highly functionalized and/or stereoactive products. Nature has supplied thousands of enzymes and assembled them into numerous metabolic pathways. Although these native pathways can be use to produce natural bioproducts, there are many valuable and useful compounds that have no known...

The development of new chemical engineering design tools is essential for the implementation of the latest technology in the manufacture of chemical and other products. The focus of this paper is on process systems engineering (PSE) methods and tools, and especially on how such PSE methods and tools can be applied to speed up or support systematic bioprocess development at miniature scale. In t...

Biocatalysis, the use of enzymes in chemical transformation, has undergone intensive development for a wide range of applications. As such, maximizing the functionality of enzymes for biocatalysis is a major priority to enable industrial use. To date, many innovative technologies have been developed to address the future demand of enzymes for these purposes, but maximizing the catalytic activit...

BACKGROUND Enantiopure 2-hydroxy acids are key intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. We present an enantioselective cascade biocatalysis using recombinant microbial cells for deracemization of racemic 2-hydroxy acids that allows for efficient production of enantiopure 2-hydroxy acids. RESULTS The method was realized by a single recombinant Escherichia coli str...

Biocatalysis is an emerging strategy for the production of enantio-pure organic molecules. However, lacking of commercially available enzymes restricts the widespread application of biocatalysis. In this study, we report a Pseudomonas strain which exhibited versatile oxidation activity to synthesize chiral sulfoxides when growing under M9-toluene medium and reduction activity to synthesize chir...

Statins used in the treatment of dyslipidemias are top-selling drugs in the world. Economical production of statins in industrial scale is challenging, because the side chain of statins is a 3,5-dihydroxyacid derivative consisting of two asymmetric centers. The most prominent methods for the preparation of the side chain are based on biocatalysis and surveyed in this review.