Carbohydrate Chemistry, Industrial

The studies of the nonenzymic interconversion involving D-glucose and D-fructose have proved important to the development of certain fundamental principles of carbohydrate chemistry. Industrial scientists have always been interested in applying this knowledge to de-... 

HMF is an important versatile sugar derivative and is a key intermediate between bio-based carbohydrate chemistry and petroleum based industrial organic chemistry (1, 2). The most coimnon feedstock for HMF is fructose and reactions are carried out in water-based solvent systems using acid catalysis (3,4). HMF is unstable in water at low pH and breaks down to form levulinic acid and formic acid, resulting in an expensive HMF recovery process. In strongly polar organic co-solvents, such as dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), levuhnic acid formation is reduced and HMF yields are improved (5). 

By far the highest industrial potential for a fructose-based compound is to be attributed to HMF, which has been termed a key substance between carbohydrate chemistry and mineral-oil-based industrial organic chemistry. Like the bulk-scale commodities hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid, HMF represents a six-carbon compound with broad industrial application profiles. It is readily accessible from fructose or inulin hydrolysates by acid-induced elimination of three... 

Sucrochemistry is already more than 50 years old, and has become a field of carbohydrate chemistry on its own. Indeed, considerable progress has been achieved in the monitoring of the chemical reactivity of sucrose, with the efforts of many research teams who have built on the steps of a few pioneers. Many sucrose derivatives can now be prepared, and sophisticated synthons as well as simple substituted compounds have been reported. However, only a few examples have yet reached the level of the industrial development, and these are mainly in the field of food and cosmetic additives and surfactants. Various polymers, additives for materials, and some chemical intermediates have also been produced. Bioconversions are certainly a major avenue for using sucrose as a starting material, and ethanol production will increase as a consequence of high oil prices. Current awareness of the shortage of fossil resources emphasizes the potential for chemical transformations of sucrose in providing new uses of this abundant natural resource. 

Barth, H. G., and Regnier, F. E. (1981). High-performance gel-permeation chromatography of industrial gums analysis of pectins and water-soluble cellulosics. Methods in Carbohydrate Chemistry, Vol. IX, pp. 105-114. Academic Press, New York. 

Fortunately for carbohydrate chemistry, and with Prof. Adams insistence, Dr. Jeanes decided to accept a position at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington D.C., in the laboratory of the celebrated carbohydrate pioneer Claude S. Hudson. Her support came from one of the first Fellowships of the Corn Industries Research Foundation. With Hudson she developed methods using periodate oxidation to determine the structure of starches, marking the start of her long fascination with carbohydrate polymers. Dr. Jeanes then continued her studies of carbohydrates with Dr. Horace Isbell at the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology). 

Explores carbohydrate chemistry from both academic and industrial points of view... 

This book aims to provide a graduate level text on structure and mechanism in carbohydrate chemistry and biochemistry for beginning researchers. In addition to research workers new to carbohydrates in academic research departments, the work is intended to be useful for researchers and practitioners in the carbohydrate-processing industries, such as pulp and paper, textiles and food. 

A range of excellent and recent reviews can be found, in which the use of enzymes within specific branches or disciplines of organic chemistry is highlighted. These include biocatalysis in carbohydrate chemistry [39], polymer chemistry [40] and for protecting group manipulations [41]. The present chapter is focused on immobilized enzymes. Hence, as an appetizer, a few selected applications with Novozym 435 are presented below, followed by a short subsection discussing industrial-scale applications of immobilized enzymes. 

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