Biological catalysts, selectivity advantage

A major selectivity advantage of biological catalysts over traditional systems includes the ability to form single products (chemical selectivity) as well as single optical isomers (stereoselectivity). Specific examples where biological routes are preferred commercially include fermentative processes for the amino acids monosodium glutamate (MSG), lysine, aspartic acid, citric acid and phenylalanine (5). Many other chemicals have also been produced by fermentative processes (6). 

Some years ago, we started a project aimed at the development of simple and efficient enzymatic methods for the synthesis of biologically-active carbohydrates on a preparative scale. The use of enzymes as catalysts for the synthesis of carbohydrates has many potential advantages, such as enabling selective, stereo specific syntheses with a minimum of reaction steps under mild conditions and in aqueous solutions in which carbohydrates are highly soluble. Moreover, many enzymes now can be produced in quantity by fermentation and can be immobilized and reused. 

Establishment of the Catalyst. Chemical and enzyme catalysts offer alternatives to biological fermentation (cf. Table 1.1). Enzyme technology offers the advantages of specificity and selectivity The multiple-substrate-media... 

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