Biotechnological bioconversion processes

Labuda IM, Goers KA, Keon KA (1993) Microbial bioconversion process for the production of vanillin. In Schreier P, Winterthaler P (eds) Progress in flavour precursor studies analysis, generation, biotechnology. Proceedings of the international conference, Wuerzburg. Allured, Carol Stream, pp 477-482... 

Living organisms can take up externally supplied chemicals and metabolize them to other chemicals. In biotechnology, such biotransformation or bioconversion processes have long been used, e.g., for hydroxylation of steroids [60]. 

In toda/s world, the biotechnology industry, which includes the bacterial production of compounds listed in O Table 1.1, accounts for a mere US 30 billion in chemical compounds produced by fermentation or other bioconversion processes. The total chemical market is greater than US 1,200 billion (Wilke 1995), which includes all organic chemicals mostly produced from petroleum, natural gas, and coal feedstocks. Indeed, most of the organic acids and solvents listed in O Table 1.1 are also synthesized today by chemical processes from these nonrenewable feedstocks. An exception is the polyhydroxyalkanoates, produced only by bacteria. However, cheap, petroleum-derived plastic polymers dominate the present-day market where the polyalkanoate products are designed to compete. 

Aqueous two-phase systems are generated by mixing aqueous solutions of two water-soluble polymers, or a polymer and a salt. These systems offer extremely mild conditions for separation of cells, organelles, proteins and other biomolecules, in biochemical processes. Considerable attention has been directed towards the use of the two-phase systems in several areas of biotechnology. The present paper summarizes the state of the art concerning extractive bioconversions for production of small as well as macromolecules, and protein purification using aqueous two-phase system. 

About the Cover The pyramid represents successive and increasingly selective processing stages in bioconversion of plant biomass to industrial chemicals. The chemicals in white bubbles are the industrial commodity bioproducts pertaining to the realm of white biotechnology . 

Sanchez S, Demain AL (2011) Enzymes and bioconversions of industrial, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological significance. Org Process Res Dev 15 224... 

VAPs and its recycling into lipids and/or fats by various microbes. Biotechnological processes have been studied extensively for years, wifh a number of differenf microorganisms, to use glycerol as a carbon source for bioconversions. Some of the useful chemicals thaf can be produced by bioconversions include 1,3-PDO, succinic acid, citric acid, and PHAs (Koutinas et al., 2007), while the production of other chemicals is still being explored. 

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