Bio-based platform molecules

In spite of the nearly universal acceptability of the chemicals mentioned above as very important intermediate species to obtain various commodity chemicals and products from biomass, it has been stated (Farmer and Mascal, 2014) that no consensus actually exists about the name by which these biomass-derived species should be called. We shall call these chemical species "bio-based platform molecules" following Farmer and Mascal s book chapter from which we also quote their definition. "A bio-based (or bio-derived) platform molecule is a chemical compoxmd whose constituent elements originate wholly from biomass (material of biological origin, excluding fossil carbon sources), and that can be utilized as a building block for the production of other chemicals."... 

The 2004 US DOE report referred to above (Werpy and Peterson, 2004) also gives "star" diagrams for the identified bio-based platform molecules to indicate how the molecules may be transformed into a variety of derivatives or secondary chemicals. The number and nature of the pathways for forming derivatives is dependent on the platform molecule used, but the authors of this valuable report have suggested the broad categorization of the derivatives into (1) those that will replace industrial petrochemicals or biochemicals and (2) tiiose tiiat... 

Levulinic acid and its derivatives are key platform molecules opening promising pathways for novel bio-based polymers from lignocellulosic feedstock and could be potential precursors of synthetic mbbers or resins. Carbohydrate-based monomers suited for polycondensation have been primarily considered for developing a growing industrial sector, now starting to compete with conventional oil-based polymer production. 

Fermentation is a viable means of producing solvents, with various alcohols and acids produced commercially by this means. From bio-ethanol, the following familiar solvents have been made acetic acid," acetonitrile, ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, and triethylamine (Scheme 3.1). The products of fermentation can also serve as platform molecules to deliver an even greater diversity of bio-based chemicals. Bio-ethanol is being dehydrated to give a renewable source of ethylene. It is not hard to hypothesise that routes to further solvents that currently depend on petroleum derived ethylene, such... 

Very recently, lactones have received increasing attention as potential renewable platform chemicals. Perhaps the most prominent bio-based hydroxy fatty acids lactic acid, whose cyclic ester of two lactate molecules serves precursor for the synthesis of bio-based polymers. Fermentative production of hydroxyl-carboxylic acids from agro-industrial waste is an alternative to the synthesis from dwindling fossil resources (Fiichtenbusch et al. 2000). The enzymatic machinery for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) in bacteria offers catalytic pathways for the production of these lactone precursors (Efe et al. 2008). Recent examples include the microbial synthesis of y-butyrolactone and y-valerolactone. Particularly y-valerolactone is of importance and ranks among the top key components of the biomass-based economy. Microbial processes thus offer the perspective of a sustainable fermentative production of optically pure renewable lactones. 

Shen et al. [16] have recently reported the development of an electrochemical DNAzyme biosensor based on DNA-Au bio-bar code amplification, which provides a platform for fabrication of sensors for analysis of many small molecules, especially for metal ions. For example, a specific DNAzyme for Pb + was immobilized onto an Au electrode surface via a thiol-Au interaction, taking advantage of cataljAic reactions of a DNAzyme upon its binding to Pb + and the use of DNA-Au bio-bar codes to achieve signal enhancement [16]. The presence of gold nanoparticles, enhancing the active surface... 

A further thought in this context is that current platform chemicals have been developed because they were convenient to produce from fossil resources. While it appears tempting to simply replace such fossil-based molecules by producing them from biomass, the inherent functionality of bio-derived molecules should be utilized as much as possible in the long run for the sake of sustainability. 

---