Kinetically controlled synthesis of ampicillin with immobilized penicillin acylase in the presence of organic cosolvents

Penicillin acylase (PA) is used in the industrial production of 6-amino penicillanic acid (6-APA). However, by proper control of reaction medium, the enzyme can be used in the reverse synthesis of β-lactam antibiotics from the corresponding β-lactam nuclei and suitable acyl donors. Under thermodynamically controlled strategy, the use of organic cosolvents can favor synthesis over hydrolysis by lowering water activity and favoring the non-ionic reactive species. Under kinetically controlled strategy using activated acyl donors, organic solvents can favor synthesis by depressing hydrolytic reactions. Results are presented on the synthesis of ampicillin from phenylglycine methyl ester and 6-APA with immobilized Escherichia coli PA in the presence of organic cosolvents. Several solvents were tested in terms of enzyme stability and solubility of substrates. Ethylene glycol, glycerol, 1–2 propanediol and 1–3 butanediol were selected accordingly and ampicillin synthesis was performed in all of them. Best results in terms of yield and productivity were obtained with ethylene glycol, with which further studies were conducted. Variables studied were enzyme to limiting substrate ratio, acyl acceptor to acyl donor ratio, organic solvent concentration, pH and temperature. Experimental design based on a two-level fractional factorial design was conducted. pH was determined as the most sensitive variable and was further optimized. The best conditions for ampicillin synthesis in terms of productivity, within the range of values studied for those variables, were pH 7.4, 28°C, 36 U_S PA/mmol 6-APA, 3 mol PGME/mol 6-APA and 45 % (v/v) ethylene glycol concentration. Productivity was 7.66 mM ampicillin/h, which corresponds to a specific productivity of 7.02 μmol ampicillin/h U_S at 55 % yield. Productivity was lower than in buffer but product yield was higher because of the much lower relative hydrolysis rates.     

The role of hydration in enzyme activity and stability: 1. Water adsorption by alcohol dehydrogenase in a continuous gas phase reactor

The enzymatic synthesis of the tripeptide derivative Z-Gly-Trp-Met-OEt is reported. This tripeptide is a fragment of the cholecystokinin C-terminal octapeptide CCK-8. Studies on the alpha-chymotrypsin catalyzed coupling reaction between Z-Gly-Trp-R(1) and Met-R(2) have focused on low water content media, using deposited enzyme on inert supports such as Celite and polyamide. The effect of additives (polar organic solvents), the acyl-donor ester structure, the C-alpha protecting group of the nucleophile, enzyme loading, and substrate concentration were tested. The best reaction medium found was acetonitrile containing buffer (0.5%, v/v) and triethylamine (0.5%, v/v) using the enzyme deposited on Celite as catalyst (8 mg of alpha-chymotrypsin/g of Celite). A reaction yield of 81% was obtained with Z-Gly-Trp-OCam as acyl donor, at an initial concentration of 80 mM. The tripeptide synthesis was scaled up to the production of 2 g of pure tripeptide with an overall yield of 71%, including reaction and purification steps. (c) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Trypsin-catalyzed kinetically controlled synthesis of a precursor dipeptide of thymopentin in organic solvents, using a free amino acid as nucleophile

Trypsin-catalyzed, kinetically controlled synthesis of a precursor, dipeptide of thymopentin (TP-5), Bz-Arg-Lys-OH (or-OEt) in organic solvents was studied. Bz-Arg-OEt was used as the acyl donor and Lys-OH and Lys-OEt were used as the nucleophiles. Ethanol was selected as the organic solvent from ethanol, methanol, acetonitrile, and ethyl acetate tested under the experimental conditions. As expected, Lys-OEt is not a suitable nucleophile in trypsin-catalyzed reaction, due to its competition with the protective Arg-OEt as acyl donor for the active site of trypsin, while Lys-OH does not have this problem. The optimal reaction condition for the synthesis of Bz-Arg-Lys-OH was set up as 20% Tris-HCl buffer, pH 8.0, 35 degrees C for 6 h with the yield of 52.5%, or for 18-24 h with the yield of about 60%.     

Enzymatic synthesis of benzyl benzoate using different acyl donors: Comparison of solvent-free reaction techniques

In this study, benzyl benzoate was successfully synthesized via enzymatic acylation using three immobilized enzymes as biocatalysts. Different acyl donors (benzoic acid and benzoic anhydride), operation regimes (batch, fed-batch), mixing modes (conventional mechanical stirring and ultrasound), process parameters (temperature, substrate molar ratio of acyl donor to acyl acceptor), presence or absence of solvents, enzyme amount and type were evaluated. Benzoic acid is a solid that is difficult to solubilize and, thus, was not efficient as acyl donor for the synthesis of benzyl benzoate. On the other hand, benzoic anhydride was very effective for the acylation of benzyl benzoate, and the presence of an excess of benzyl alcohol was essential to ensure the solute-solvent intermolecular attractions and good substrate solubilization, allowing the ester synthesis to be performed in the absence of organic solvents. The ultrasound was effective in increasing increase the initial reaction rate and the final conversion (88 %). However, the Lipozyme TL-IM and RM-IM supports were damaged, and the reuse was unfeasible. The batch and fed-batch approaches in conventional stirring ensured high conversions of 92 and 90 %, respectively, for batch (anhydride: alcohol 1:6) and fed-batch (1:3) using the Lipozyme TL-IM as biocatalyst. The controlled addition of the anhydride (fed-batch) allowed the reduction of alcohol molar ratio but decreased the reaction rates, and the maximum conversions were reached only after 24 h, while the batch approach had 92 % of conversion after 6 h. The yield of benzyl benzoate was high at 6 wt.% of enzyme, low temperature (50 °C), and simple reactor operation (batch). Results show the feasibility of the synthesis of benzyl benzoate via acylation using a green process that may be an alternative route to the chemical synthesis.     

Influence of 6-aminopenicillanic acid on amoxicillin synthesis and p-hydroxyphenylglycine methyl ester hydrolysis

A significant problem in the enzymatic production of the beta-lactam antibiotic amoxicillin from 6-Aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA) and p-hydroxyphenylglycine methyl ester (HPGM) is the enzymatic hydrolysis of both HPGM and amoxicillin. Here we show that APA is able to competitively inhibit the hydrolysis of HPGM, with a Michaelis-Menten inhibition constant K_i of 7.23mM. While this phenomenon also results in a slowdown of the amoxicillin rate of formation, the S/H (synthesis to hydrolysis ratio) rate is improved. We found that this S/H rate depends directly on the ratio of the two substrates rather than their absolute concentrations. A doubling in S/H rate was obtained by decreasing the HPGM to APA ratio from 3 to 0.5.     

Synthesis of a precursor dipeptide of thymopentin in organic solvents by an enzymatic method

The protease-catalyzed, kinetically controlled synthesis of a precursor dipeptide of thymopentin(TP-5), Z-Arg-Lys-NH2 in organic solvents was studied. Z-Arg-OMe was used as the acyl donor and Lys-NH2 was used as the nucleophile. An industrial alkaline protease alcalase and trypsin were used to catalyze the synthesis of the target dipeptide in water-organic cosolvent systems. The conditions of the synthesis reaction were optimized by examining the effects of several factors, including organic solvents, water content, temperature, pH, and reaction time on the yield of Z-Arg-Lys-NH2. The optimum conditions using alcalase as the catalyst are pH 10.0, 35 degrees C, in acetonitrile/DMF/Na2CO3-NaHCO3 buffer system (80:10:10, V/V), 6 h, with the dipeptide yield of 71.1%. Compared with alcalase, the optimum conditions for trypsin are pH 8.0, 35 degrees C, in ethanol/Tris-HCl buffer system (80:20, V/V), 4 h, with the dipeptide yield of 76.1%.     

Protease-catalyzed synthesis of a precursor dipeptide, Z-Asp-Val-NH2 of thymopentin, in organic solvents

The protease-catalyzed, kinetically controlled synthesis of a precursor dipeptide, Z-Asp-Val-NH(2) of thymopentin (TP-5), in organic solvents was studied. Z-Asp-OMe and Val-NH(2) were used as the acyl donor and the nucleophile, respectively. An industrial alkaline protease alcalase was used to catalyze the synthesis of the target dipeptide in water-organic cosolvent systems. The conditions of the synthesis reaction were optimized by examining the effects of several factors, including organic solvents, water content, temperature, pH, and reaction time on the yield of Z-Asp-Val-NH(2). The optimum conditions using alcalase as the catalyst are pH 10.0, 35 degrees C, in acetonitrile/Na(2)CO(3)-NaHCO(3) buffer system (9:1, V/V), reaction time 5 h, with a yield of 63%. The dipeptide product was confirmed by LC- MS.     

Enzymatic preparation of cefaclor with immobilized penicillin acylase

Enzymatic syntheses of cefaclor by immobilized penicillin acylase under kinetic control were carried out. According to the initial reaction rate ratio of synthesis to hydrolysis (Vs/Vh), penicillin acylase from Alcaligenes faecalis was chosen as the suitable catalyst for the synthesis of cefaclor. The reaction conditions, such as temperature, pH, and substrate concentration were investigated based on their Vs/Vh values. In the process of preparing cefaclor, in situ product removal (ISPR) and acyl donor feeding were used to achieve high yield. At the optimal conditions, the yield of cefaclor was 90%. In addition, the product were separated and purified, the total yield of cefaclor was 61%.     

Resolution of 1,3-dioxolane derivatives using the lipase from an Acinetobacter junii SY-01

Acinetobacter junii SY-01 producing a lipase enantioselectively hydrolyzing 1,3-dioxolane derivatives was isolated from water sludge sample and the effect of solvent, acyl donor, vinyl acetate concentration, substrate concentration, operating temperature and immobilization on activity and enantioselectivity was studied for the resolution of 1,3-dioxolane derivatives through transesterification reaction using a lipase from the isolated strain. Best selectivity was obtained at lower substrate concentration (3–5 mM), higher vinyl acetate concentration (500–1000 mM) and lower temperature (30–40 °C) in the reaction mixture. Lipase immobilized onto Accurel MP-1000 (micro-porous polypropylene) gave the best results and the reactivity was about 29-fold higher than the free enzyme without the decrease of enantioselectivity. Resolution of 1,3-dioxolane derivatives was carried out in flask scale containing 100 ml solvents using the lipase immobilized onto Accurel MP-1000. In this reaction, the yield and enantiomeric excess of the remaining (2R, 4S)-alcohol were 31.2% and 98.2%, respectively. This result suggests that it can be used as an alternative method, compared to the present synthetic method, for the production of optically pure (2R, 4S)-itraconazole.     

Protease-Catalyzed Synthesis of a Precursor Dipeptide,Z-Asp-Val-NH2 of Thymopentin,in Organic Solvents

Abstract

The protease-catalyzed, kinetically controlled synthesis of a precursor dipeptide, Z-Asp-Val-NH₂ of thymopentin (TP-5), in organic solvents was studied. Z-Asp-OMe and Val-NH₂ were used as the acyl donor and the nucleophile, respectively. An industrial alkaline protease alcalase was used to catalyze the synthesis of the target dipeptide in water-organic cosolvent systems. The conditions of the synthesis reaction were optimized by examining the effects of several factors, including organic solvents, water content, temperature, pH, and reaction time on the yield of Z-Asp-Val-NH₂. The optimum conditions using alcalase as the catalyst are pH 10.0, 35°C, in acetonitrile/Na₂CO₃-NaHCO₃ buffer system (9:1, V/V), reaction time 5 h, with a yield of 63%. The dipeptde product was confirmed by LC- MS.     

Comparative study of the enzymatic synthesis of cephalexin at high substrate concentration in aqueous and organic media using statistical model

Synthesis of cephalexin with immobilized penicillin acylase at high substrates concentration at an acyl donor to nucleophile molar ratio of 3 was comparatively evaluated in aqueous and ethylene glycol media using a statistical model. Variables under study were temperature, pH and enzyme to substrate ratio and their effects were evaluated on cephalexin yield, ratio of initial rates of cephalexin synthesis to phenylglycine methyl ester hydrolysis, volumetric and specific productivity of cephalexin synthesis, that were used as response parameters. Results obtained in both reaction media were modeled using surface of response methodology and optimal operation conditions were determined in terms of an objective function based on the above parameters. At very high substrates concentrations the use of organic co-solvents was not required to attain high yields and actually almost stoichiometric yields were obtained in a fully aqueous media with the advantages of higher productivities than in an organic co-solvent media and compliance with the principles of green chemistry.     

Peptide synthesis using proteases dissolved in organic solvents

Organic solvent-soluble -chymotrypsin (CT) and subtilisin Carlsberg (SC) are effective catalysts for peptide synthesis in homogeneous organic solutions. The soluble enzymes have values of k_cat/K_m for the reaction of N-Bz-L-Tyr-OEt with L-Leu-NH₂ to yield the dipeptide N-Bz-L-Tyr-L-Leu-NH₂ that are over 3 orders of magnitude higher than their suspended counterparts in isooctane (containing 30% (v/v) tetrahydrofuran (THF) to aid in substrate solubility). Both enzymes are substantially more active in hydrophobic organic solvents than hydrophilic solvents. Adding small concentrations of water (<0.2% and 1% (v/v) in isooctane-THF and ethyl acetate, respectively) results in up to a 150-fold activation of -chymotrypsin-catalyzed peptide synthesis. Importantly, added water does not promote hydrolysis in either isooctane-THF or ethyl acetate; thus, -chymotrypsin is highly selective toward peptide synthesis in the nearly anhydrous organic solutions. Unlike CT, the activation of subtilisin Carlsberg upon partial hydration of isooctane-THF or ethyl acetate was not significant and actually resulted in substantial hydrolysis. Using -chymotrypsin, a variety of tripeptides were produced from dipeptide amino acid esters. Reactivity of D-amino acid amides as acyl acceptors and partially unblocked amino acid acyl donors further expands the generality of the use of organic solvent-soluble enzymes as peptide synthesis catalysts.     

Non-coded amino acids as acyl donor substrates for peptide bond formation catalyzed by thermoase in toluene

The peptide bond formation of N-protected non-coded amino acids having different structures as acyl donor substrates that is catalyzed by thermoase in organic media was investigated. In these reactions, N-protected l--non-coded amino acids, including l-Orn, l-Cit, -aminobutyric acid (l--Abu) and phenylalanine homologues, were used as the acyl donors and phenylalanine derivatives were used as the acyl acceptors. This kind of enzymatic reactions cannot be carried out in an aqueous buffer due to the rigid specificity of proteases to coded amino acids in water. The results demonstrated that the substrate specificity of proteases could be broadened in organic solvents. In addition, the factors that influenced these protease-catalyzed reactions, including structures of the substrates, water content and the bases used, were systematically studied. Our work provided important evidence for broadening the application of protease in organic synthesis.     

Synthesis of dermorphin-(1-4) derivatives catalyzed by proteases in organic solvents.

In order to extend the use of proteases to organic synthesis and seek the rules of enzymatic reactions in organic media, we focused on unnatural substrates for proteases to form amide bonds. In this paper, the study of unnatural substrates containing D-amino acid residue, which act as acyl acceptors as well as acyl donors for proteases in organic media, is reported. Dermorphin is a heptapeptide (H-Tyr-D-Ala-Phe-Gly-Tyr-Pro-Ser-NH(2)) with potent analgesic activity. The N-terminal tetrapeptide is the minimum sequence that retains dermorphin activity, and is selected as the model compound in our study. Two dermorphin-(1-4) derivatives, Boc-Tyr-D-Ala-Phe-Gly-N(2)H(2)Ph and Boc-Tyr-D-Ala-Phe-Gly-NH(2), which contained a d-amino acid residue, were synthesized by proteases in organic media for the first time. The synthesis of these two dermorphin-(1-4) derivatives could be catalyzed by subtilisin with Boc-Tyr-D-Ala-OCH(2)CF(3) as an acyl donor substrate in AcOEt. The synthesis of dermorphin-(1-2) derivative Boc-Tyr-D-Ala-N(2)H(2)Ph was catalyzed by alpha-chymotrypsin in different organic solvents and D-Ala-N(2)H(2)Ph was used as an acyl acceptor substrate. Factors influencing the above enzymatic reactions were systematically studied.     

Thermodynamically controlled synthesis of amide bonds catalyzed by highly organic solvent-resistant penicillin acylase derivatives

A study of various direct condensations between different amines, having very high pK values, and unmodified acyl donors has been performed. This has been possible by the use of a very stable PGA derivative. First, it has been found that the higher the cosolvent concentration, the higher the pK of the acyl donor and thus the higher the yield. Therefore, these high concentrations of cosolvents seem to be a requisite for certain enzymatic condensations. Using ethanolamine and 2-hydroxy-2-phenylethyl-amine as nucleophiles and phenyl acetic acid as the acyl donor, the increase in the diglyme concentration from 50 to 90% (v/v) permitted improvement of not only the yield (reaching values higher than 99% in both cases) but also the reaction rates (by 360- or 3-fold, respectively). However, even when using PGA preparations stabilized by multipoint covalent attachment, it was not possible to obtain these results by inactivation of the enzyme derivative. Thus, in the protection of the octylamine with phenylacetic acid in 90% diglyme, the enzymatic activity was more than 20-fold higher using the hydrophilized derivative than the glyoxyl PGA, which allowed us to obtain a yield higher than 99%. Thus, the use of hydrophilized derivatives that are very stable even in the presence of high concentrations of organic solvents opens new opportunities in the use of PGA in organic chemistry.     

Alcalase-catalyzed, kinetically controlled synthesis of a precursor dipeptide of RGDS in organic solvents

The protease-catalyzed, kinetically controlled synthesis of a precursor dipeptide of RGDS, Z-Asp-Ser-NH2 in organic solvents was studied. Alcalase, an industrial alkaline protease, was used to catalyze the synthesis of the target dipeptide in water-organic cosolvents systems with Z-Asp-OMe as the acyl donor and Ser-NH2 as the nucleophile. Acetonitrile was selected as the organic solvent from acetonitrile, ethanol, methanol, DMF, DMSO, ethyl acetate, 2-methyl-2-propanol, and chloroform tested under the experimental conditions. The conditions of the synthesis reaction were optimized by examining the effects of several factors, including water content, temperature, pH, and reaction time on the Z-Asp-Ser-NH2 yields. The optimum conditions are pH 10.0, 35 degrees C, in acetonitrile/Na2CO3-NaHCO3 buffer system (85:15, v/v), 6 h, with a dipeptide yield of 75.5%.     

新颖深海微生物酯酶EstC11的酶学性质及其在手性拆分乙酸苏合香酯中的应用

【背景】手性乙酸苏合香酯是重要的手性香料产品,在食品及精细化工等领域都有重要的应用。酶催化不对称合成手性乙酸苏合香酯产品具有极好的工业应用前景。【目的】研究酯酶EstC11的基本酶学性质及其在制备手性乙酸苏合香酯中的应用。【方法】对来自西太平洋深海热液口芽孢杆菌Bacillus sp.CX01中的新颖微生物酯酶基因EstC11进行克隆、表达及酶学性质鉴定。通过对p H、温度、有机溶剂等反应条件的优化提高酯酶手性拆分乙酸苏合香酯的光学纯度。【结果】酯酶EstC11的最适反应p H为8.5,最适温度为25°C,一些金属离子和有机溶剂对酯酶EstC11的水解活性具有不同程度的抑制作用。通过对反应条件的优化,在最适反应条件下(p H 9.0 50 mmol/L Tris-HCl,20°C,50 mmol/L底物浓度)反应3 h后,(R)-乙酸苏合香酯的光学纯度达98%,得率为39%。【结论】通过对酯酶拆分条件的优化,手性拆分乙酸苏合香酯生成(R)-乙酸苏合香酯的光学纯度明显提高,为酯酶EstC11在工业化上的应用奠定了基础。     

Understanding the influence of temperature change and cosolvent addition on conversion rate of enzymatic suspension reactions based on regime analysis

It is a commonly held belief that enzymatic conversions of substrate in aqueous suspensions can be speeded up by raising the temperature or adding organic solvents to promote dissolution of the substrate. To quantify the impact of such changes, we studied the alpha-chymotrypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis of dimethyl benzylmethylmalonate as a model system. It was found that, upon addition of organic cosolvents, longer process times were actually required, even though the substrate solubility increased severalfold as expected. Upon raising the temperature from 25 degrees C to 37 degrees C, on the other hand, both the substrate solubility, the substrate dissolution rate, and the enzymatic reaction rate increased, leading to shorter process times. A dissolution-reaction model incorporating the kinetics of enzyme deactivation could be developed. A simple relation for the prediction of the overall process time was established by evaluating the time constants for the subprocesses: substrate dissolution; enzymatic conversion; and enzyme deactivation. Using regime analysis, rules of thumb for the optimization of an enzymatic suspension reaction were derived.     

Penicillin acylase-catalyzed synthesis of cefazolin in water–solvent mixtures: enhancement effect of ethyl acetate and carbon tetrachloride on the synthetic yield

The effects of organic solvents on the penicillin acylase-catalyzed, kinetically controlled synthesis of cefazolin have been examined in various water–solvent mixtures. In the presence of water-miscible solvents, the initial rate and maximum yield of cefazolin (CEZ) synthesis reaction were found to be reduced. The extent of inhibition was increased with increasing hydrophobicity of the solvent in the reaction mixtures. Enzymatic synthesis of cefazolin was also carried out in the water–solvent biphasic systems. Among the water-immiscible solvents tested, ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) were found to markedly improve the yield of cefazolin in the two-phase reaction system. Our study showed that the enhancement effect of EtOAc and CCl₄ on the synthetic yield was mainly caused by a reduction of the hydrolysis of acyl donor and product in the two-phase system rather than extraction of the product into the solvent phase.     

Enantioselective properties of Fusarium solani pisi cutinase on transesterification of acyclic diols: activity and stability evaluation

The regio and enantioselectivity of a recombinant cutinase from Fusarium solani pisi was tested on three racemic and one prochiral phenylalkanediols via irreversible transesterification with vinyl acetate. The optimization of the reaction conditions involved the screening of different organic solvents as well as the variation of the substrate concentrations. Thus, the enzymatic activity was checked by measuring initial reaction rates, overall yields, and enantiomeric excess of the reaction products. Only the smaller molecules were recognized by the enzyme, and a denaturing effect of the acyl donor was observed. Nevertheless, a stabilising effect on the enzyme caused by a pre-incubation with the diol was also noted.