A Process Concept for High-Purity Production of Amines by Transaminase-Catalyzed Asymmetric Synthesis: Combining Enzyme Cascade and Membrane-Assisted ISPR

Crystallization Assisted Dynamic Kinetic Resolution for the Synthesis of (R)-β-Methylphenethylamine

This study explores a combination of the concept of enantioselective enzymatic synthesis of β-chiral amines through transamination with in situ product crystallization (ISPC) to overcome product inhibition. Using 2-phenylpropanal as a readily available and easily racemizing substrate of choice, (R)-β-methylphenethylamine ((R)-2-phenylpropan-1-amine) concentrations of up to 250 mM and enantiomeric excesses of up to 99 % are achieved when using a commercially available transaminase from Ruegeria pomeroyi in a fed-batch based dynamic kinetic resolution reaction on preparative scale. The source of substrate decomposition during the reaction is also investigated and the resulting unwanted byproduct formation is successfully reduced to insignificant levels.

Crystallization-based downstream processing of ω-transaminase- and amine dehydrogenase-catalyzed reactions

This study highlights the use of selective crystallization as a downstream-processing concept for amine products from biocatalytic reactions.

Thermodynamic analysis on disproportionation process of cyclohexylamine to dicyclohexylamine

This work deals with a study of the effect of temperature on the cyclohexylamine disproportionation to dicyclohexylamine, conjointly with the thermodynamic analysis of this process. The laboratory experiments were carried out in a glass tubular continuous-flow reactor in a gaseous phase at the reaction temperature 433–463 K over a nickel catalyst. The results show, that the temperature has a trifling effect on equilibrium conversion of cyclohexylamine. However, temperature affects the formation of hydrocarbons, benzene and cyclohexane, and dehydrogenation products of dicyclohexylamine, i.e. N-cyclohexylidenecyclohexanamine and N-phenylcyclohexylamine. The latter one is the dominant product of dicyclohexylamine dehydrogenation. The disproportionation of cyclohexylamine has slightly exothermic character. At the experimental reaction temperature range, the cyclohexylamine disproportionation is spontaneous reaction and other reactions of this process are non-spontaneous.

Biocatalytic Reduction Reactions from a Chemist's Perspective

Reductions play a key role in organic synthesis, producing chiral products with new functionalities. Enzymes can catalyse such reactions with exquisite stereo-, regio- and chemoselectivity, leading the way to alternative shorter classical synthetic routes towards not only high-added-value compounds but also bulk chemicals. In this review we describe the synthetic state-of-the-art and potential of enzymes that catalyse reductions, ranging from carbonyl, enone and aromatic reductions to reductive aminations.

Engineering the large pocket of an (S)-selective transaminase for asymmetric synthesis of (S)-1-amino-1-phenylpropane

Amine transaminases offer an environmentally benign chiral amine asymmetric synthesis route.

Concept Study for an Integrated Reactor-Crystallizer Process for the Continuous Biocatalytic Synthesis of (S)-1-(3-Methoxyphenyl)ethylamine

An integrated biocatalysis-crystallization concept was developed for the continuous amine transaminase-catalyzed synthesis of (S)-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)ethylamine, which is a valuable intermediate for the synthesis of rivastigmine, a highly potent drug for the treatment of early stage Alzheimer’s disease. The three-part vessel system developed for this purpose consists of a membrane reactor for the continuous synthesis of the product amine, a saturator vessel for the continuous supply of the amine donor isopropylammonium and the precipitating reagent 3,3-diphenylpropionate and a crystallizer in which the product amine can continuously precipitate as (S)-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)ethylammonium-3,3-diphenylpropionate.

Development of microreactors with surface-immobilized biocatalysts for continuous transamination

The industrial importance of optically pure compounds has thrown a spotlight on ω-transaminases that have shown a high potential for the synthesis of bioactive compounds with a chiral amine moiety. The implementation of biocatalysts in industrial processes relies strongly on fast and cost effective process development, including selection of a biocatalyst form and the strategy for its immobilization. Here, microscale reactors with selected surface-immobilized amine-transaminase (ATA) in various forms are described as platforms for high-throughput process development. Wild type ATA (ATA-wt) from a crude cell extract, as well as Escherichia coli cells intracellularly overexpressing the enzyme, were immobilized on the surfaces of meander microchannels of disposable plastics by means of reactor surface silanization and glutaraldehyde bonding. In addition, a silicon/glass microchannel reactor was used for immobilization of an ATA-wt, genetically engineered to contain a silica-binding module (SBM) at the N-terminus (N-SBM-ATA-wt), leading to immobilization on the non-modified inner microchannel surface. Microreactors with surface-immobilized biocatalysts were coupled with a quenching system and at-line HPLC analytics and evaluated based on continuous biotransformation, yielding acetophenone and l-alanine. E. coli cells and N-SBM-ATA-wt were efficiently immobilized and yielded a volumetric productivity of up to 14.42 g L^-1 h^-1, while ATA-wt small load resulted in two orders of magnitude lower productivity. The miniaturized reactors further enabled in-operando characterization of biocatalyst stability, crucial for successful transfer to a production scale.

Amine transaminases in chiral amines synthesis: recent advances and challenges

Transaminases, which catalyze the stereoselective transfer of an amino group between an amino donor and a prochiral ketone substrate, are interesting biocatalytic tools for the generation of optically pure chiral amines. In particular, amine transaminases (ATAs) are of industrial interest because they are capable of performing reductive amination reactions using a broad range of amine donors and acceptors. The most remarkable example of ATAs industrial application is in the production process of the anti-hyperglycaemic drug sitagliptin (Januvia^®/Janumet^®), which generated around 6 billion U.S. dollars of revenue to Merck in 2016. In this review, an update about the availability of microbial ATAs, discovered by both screening and database-mining approaches, or obtained by protein engineering of wild-type enzymes, will be provided. Current challenges in ATAs application and possible solutions will be also discussed. In particular, innovative biocatalytic process strategies aimed at the improvement of ATAs performances in chiral amines synthesis, e.g., using in situ product removal process strategies or flow reactors, will be presented. The progress in the industrial exploitation of these enzymes will be highlighted by selected examples of large-scale ATA-catalyzed processes.

Development of in situ product removal strategies in biocatalysis applying scaled-down unit operations

An experimental platform based on scaled-down unit operations combined in a plug-and-play manner enables easy and highly flexible testing of advanced biocatalytic process options such as in situ product removal (ISPR) process strategies. In such a platform, it is possible to compartmentalize different process steps while operating it as a combined system, giving the possibility to test and characterize the performance of novel process concepts and biocatalysts with minimal influence of inhibitory products. Here the capabilities of performing process development by applying scaled-down unit operations are highlighted through a case study investigating the asymmetric synthesis of 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine (MPPA) using ω-transaminase, an enzyme in the sub-family of amino transferases (ATAs). An on-line HPLC system was applied to avoid manual sample handling and to semi-automatically characterize ω-transaminases in a scaled-down packed-bed reactor (PBR) module, showing MPPA as a strong inhibitor. To overcome the inhibition, a two-step liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) ISPR concept was tested using scaled-down unit operations combined in a plug-and-play manner. Through the tested ISPR concept, it was possible to continuously feed the main substrate benzylacetone (BA) and extract the main product MPPA throughout the reaction, thereby overcoming the challenges of low substrate solubility and product inhibition. The tested ISPR concept achieved a product concentration of 26.5 g_MPPA  · L^-1 , a purity up to 70% g_MPPA  · g_tot^-1 and a recovery in the range of 80% mol · mol^-1 of MPPA in 20 h, with the possibility to increase the concentration, purity, and recovery further. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 600-609. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Generic HPLC platform for automated enzyme reaction monitoring: Advancing the assay toolbox for transaminases and other PLP-dependent enzymes

Methods for rapid and direct quantification of enzyme kinetics independent of the substrate stand in high demand for both fundamental research and bioprocess development. This study addresses the need for a generic method by developing an automated, standardizable HPLC platform monitoring reaction progress in near real-time. The method was applied to amine transaminase (ATA) catalyzed reactions intensifying process development for chiral amine synthesis. Autosampler-assisted pipetting facilitates integrated mixing and sampling under controlled temperature. Crude enzyme formulations in high and low substrate concentrations can be employed. Sequential, small (1 µL) sample injections and immediate detection after separation permits fast reaction monitoring with excellent sensitivity, accuracy and reproducibility. Due to its modular design, different chromatographic techniques, e.g. reverse phase and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) can be employed. A novel assay for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent enzymes is presented using SEC for direct monitoring of enzyme-bound and free reaction intermediates. Time-resolved changes of the different cofactor states, e.g. pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate and the internal aldimine were traced in both half reactions. The combination of the automated HPLC platform with SEC offers a method for substrate-independent screening, which renders a missing piece in the assay and screening toolbox for ATAs and other PLP-dependent enzymes.