3-Hydroxyalkanoic acids

Certain bacterial species produce polymers of y-hydroxybutyric acid and other hydroxyalkanoic acids as storage polymers. These are biodegradable polymers with some desirable properties for manufacture of biodegradable packaging materials, and considerable effort is being devoted by ICI Ltd. and others to the development of bacterial fermentation processes to produce these polymers at a high molecular weight (66). 

Figure 15.7 Cliromatographic separation of cliiral hydroxy acids from Pseudomonas aeruginosa without (a) and with (h) co-injection of racemic standards. Peak identification is as follows 1, 3-hydroxy decanoic acid, methyl ester 2, 3-hydroxy dodecanoic acid, methyl ester 3, 2-hydroxy dodecanoic acid, methyl ester. Adapted from Journal of High Resolution Chromatography, 18, A. Kaunzinger et al., Stereo differentiation and simultaneous analysis of 2- and 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids from hiomemhranes hy multidimensional gas cliromatog-raphy , pp. 191 -193, 1995, with permission from Wiley-VCH. (continuedp. 419)...

A. Kaunzinger, M. Thomsen, A. Dietiich and A. Mosandl, Stereodifferentiation and simultaneous analysis of 2- and 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids from hiomemhranes by multidimensional gas clnomatography , 7. High Resolut. Chromatogr. 18 191-193 (1995). 

By simply hydrolyzing the easily accessible 2-hydroxy-2-methylalkanenitriles with concentrated acid, 2-hydroxy-2-methylalkanoic acids are obtained without measurable racemization (Table 3). The reaction sequence from the starting ketone to the carboxylic acid can be carried out in one pot without isolation of the cyanohydrin. The enantiomeric excesses of the (/ )-cyanohydrins and the (ft)-2-hydroxyalkanoic acids are determined from the ( + )-(/T)-Mosher ester derivatives and as methyl alkanoates by capillary GC, respectively. The most efficient catalysis by (R)-oxynitrilase is observed for the reaction of hydrocyanic acid with 2-alkanoncs. 3-Alkanoncs are also substrates for (ft)-oxynitrilase, to give the corresponding (/ )-cyanohydrins32. 

Poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid)s BiopoF Monsanto Environmental Biosynthesis by bacteria or transgenic plants... 

Finally, the synthesis of biodegradable poly(hydroxyalkanoic acids) (PHA) by bacteria or genetically modified plants should be mentioned. The microbiology, biochemistry, and genetics of PHA biosynthesis have been reviewed by several authors52,105,405 407 and are beyond the scope of this chapter. 

PHA degradation, 43 PHAs. See Poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid)s (PHAs)... 

Poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid)s (PHAs), 27, 31, 41-43 biodegradable, 90 Poly(4-hydroxybenzoic acid) (PHBA), 49-50... 

Aliphatic polyesters based on monomers other than a-hydroxyalkanoic acids have also been developed and evaluated as drug delivery matrices. These include the polyhydroxybutyrate and polyhydroxy valerate homo- and copolymers developed by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) from a fermentation process and the polycaprolactones extensively studied by Pitt and Schindler (14,15). The homopolymers in these series of aliphatic polyesters are hydrophobic and crystalline in structure. Because of these properties, these polyesters normally have long degradation times in vivo of 1-2 years. However, the use of copolymers and in the case of polycaprolactone even polymer blends have led to materials with useful degradation times as a result of changes in the crystallinity and hydrophobicity of these polymers. An even larger family of polymers based upon hydroxyaliphatic acids has recently been prepared by bacteria fermentation processes, and it is anticipated that some of these materials may be evaluated for drug delivery as soon as they become commercially available. 

Many bacteria are able to synthesize polyesters of hydroxyalkanoic acids and to accumulate these water insoluble polyhydroxyalkanoic acids (PHA) in the cytoplasm as inclusions and as storage compounds for energy and carbon these in-... 

PHA synthases are the key enzymes of PHA biosynthesis. These enzymes catalyze the covalent linkage between the hydroxyl group of one and the carboxyl group of another hydroxyalkanoic acid. The substrates of PHA synthases are the coenzyme A thioesters of hydroxyalkanoic acids there is no evidence that PHA synthases can utilize either free hydroxyalkanoic acids or other derivatives of hydroxyalkanoic acids. With respect to size, structure, and substrate specificity, three different types of PHA synthases (I, II, and III) can be distinguished (see below). 

Fig. 2A-F. Hydroxy acid monomers of PHAs with varied polymer backbones A standard 3-hydroxyalkanoic acid monomer B 2-methyl-3-hydroxyalkanoic acid monomer C 2,2-di-methyl-3-hydroxyalkanoic acid monomer D 4-hydroxyalkanoic acid monomer E 5-hydroxy-alkanoic acid monomer F 6-hydroxyalkanoic acid monomer. (R indicates alkyl residue or H)...

An alternative to the extraction of intact PHA polymer is the isolation of PHA monomers, oligomers, or various derivatives such as esters [74]. PH As are composed of stereo-chemically pure P-3-hydroxyacids, and therefore can be used as a source of optically pure organic substrates for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry [79]. In this protocol, the defatted cake containing PHA polymer would be chemically treated to obtain the PHA derivatives. For example, transesterification of the meal with methanol would give rise to methyl esters of 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids. The PHA derivatives would then be separated from the meal with appropriate solvents. One potential disadvantage of this method is the potential alteration of the quality of the residual meal if the harsh chemical treatments required for the production of PHA derivatives lead to protein or amino acid breakdown. 

Polyesters, such as microbially produced poly[(P)-3-hydroxybutyric acid] [poly(3HB)], other poly[(P)-hydroxyalkanoic acids] [poly(HA)] and related biosynthetic or chemosynthetic polyesters are a class of polymers that have potential applications as thermoplastic elastomers. In contrast to poly(ethylene) and similar polymers with saturated, non-functionalized carbon backbones, poly(HA) can be biodegraded to water, methane, and/or carbon dioxide. This review provides an overview of the microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology of poly(HA) biodegradation. In particular, the properties of extracellular and intracellular poly(HA) hydrolyzing enzymes [poly(HA) depolymerases] are described. 

Zeolites have also been described as efficient catalysts for acylation,11 for the preparation of acetals,12 and proved to be useful for acetal hydrolysis13 or intramolecular lactonization of hydroxyalkanoic acids,14 to name a few examples of their application. A number of isomerizations and skeletal rearrangements promoted by these porous materials have also been reported. From these, we can underline two important industrial processes such as the isomerization of xylenes,2 and the Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime to e-caprolactam,15 which is an intermediate for polyamide manufacture. Other applications include the conversion of n-butane to isobutane,16 Fries rearrangement of phenyl esters,17 or the rearrangement of epoxides to carbonyl compounds.18... 

The diastereoselectivity of the reduction of a-substiluted ketones has been the subject of much investigation. The reagent combination of trifluoroacetic acid and dimethylphenylsilane is an effective method for the synthesis of erythro isomers of 2-amino alcohols, 1,2-diols, and 3-hydroxyalkanoic acid derivatives.86,87,276,375 Quite often the selectivity for formation of the erythro isomer over the threo isomer of a given pair is >99 1. Examples where high erythro preference is found in the products are shown below (Eqs. 218-220).276 Similar but complementary results are obtained with R3SiH/TBAF, where the threo isomer product... 

The mechanism for bacterial synthesis of PHA is not the simple dehydration reaction between alcohol and carboxyl groups. It is more complicated and involves the coenzyme A thioester derivative of the hydroxyalkanoic acid monomer (produced from the organic feedstock available to the bacteria) [Kamachi et al., 2001], Growth involves an acyl transfer reaction catalyzed by the enzyme PHA synthase (also called a polymerase) [Blei and Odian,... 

The reaction mechanism for the polymerization of a hydroxyalkanoic acid (Eqs. 2-243 through 2-246) is a chain polymerization, often called an activated monomer polymerization. The active site of lipase is its serine a-amino acid unit, which contains a hydroxyl group. The acyl carbon of the hydroxyalkanoic acid undergoes nucleophilic attack by the hydroxyl group of serine to form lipase-activated monomer (Eq. 2-243). Initiation consists of reaction... 

Liu, S.J. Steinbuchel, A. Exploitation of butyrate kinase and phosphotransbutyrylase from Clostridium acetobutylicum for the in vitro biosynthesis of poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid). Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 53, 545-552 (2000)... 

Reaction of esters of hydroxyalkanoic acids with sulfur tetrafluoride, unless forcing conditions arc applied, generally results in selective replacement of the hydroxy group by fluorine to give almost equimolar mixtures of fluoroalkanoates 3 and alkoxycarbonylalkyl fluorosulfites 4 in high total yield.65... 

If hydrogen fluoride is used as the catalyst, it is possible to use 3-halogenopropanoic acids in this route (68CB2494), whilst with boron trifluoride even 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids afford chromanones in a very fast reaction (63T77). 

The chiroptical properties of 2-hydroxyalkanoic acids have been discussed in relation to their stereochemical features in solution. The potential of circular dichroism techniques was emphasized... 

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