Additional Established Bioprocesses Documented by Case Studies

3 Additional Established Bioprocesses Documented by Case Studies 

L-Dopa, a metabolic precursor of dopamine, is a very important drug for the treatment of parkinsonism, but is also of interest in other therapeutic indications (annual production 250 tons). A very interesting recently industrialized bioprocess is the production of L-dopa using (5-tyrosinase (tyrosine phenol lyase) in a resting cell system (see also Table 6). This enzyme catalyzes a variety of reactions ,(5-elimination (I), -replacement (II) and the reverse of a,(5-elimination (III). R,R = phenyl-, hydroxyphenyl-, dihydroxyphenyl-, trihydroxyphenyl- 

The enzymatic process (60 m3 scale) shows a fivefold improved productivity in comparison with the chemical process, and with a significant reduction in time required to complete the process. 

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