Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2019

Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V20

Towards The Resolution of Chiral Alcohols using Thermoanaerobacter species

Höfundar / Authors: Eva María Ingvadóttir (1), Sean M. Scully (1), Jóhann Örlygsson (1)

Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. University of Akureyri

Kynnir / Presenter: Eva María Ingvadóttir

Chiral building blocks with high enantiomeric purity are important for the synthesis of pharmaceutical products. A number of methods for resolving racemic mixtures of alcohols (such as 2-heptanol, 1,2-propanediol) using either whole-cell biocatalysis or enzymes, such as lipases, have been described in the literature. Bacteria within the genus of Thermoanaerobacter have several enzymes systems that can facilitate the production of chiral alcohols. Thermoanaerobacter´ s secondary-specific alcohol dehydrogenases (TSADHs) have been extensively used in this regard particularly for mediating enantioselective reductions. More recently, our group has demonstrated the use of whole cells of Thermoanaerobacter for the oxidative resolution of alkyl secondary alcohols yielding the (S)-alcohols with high enantiomeric purity. Additionally, Thermoanaerobacter species produce esterases and lipases which have been partially characterized and used for the selective deacylation of protected alcohols. These Thermoanaerobacter hydrolases have narrow substrate specificities that are active over a broad temperature range. Thus, Thermoanaerobacter ADHs and esterases provide two distinct routes to producing both enantiomers of chiral alcohols.