Splitting of penicillin

The first prejudice that biocatalysts are too expensive is only partly true. If the cost per mol or per unit weight is calculated they certainly are expensive. For example, penicillin amidase costs 10 000/kg on a bulk scale. On the other hand the cost contribution of penicillin amidase in the splitting of penicillin G is only 1/kg of product11171. In the case of L-aspartic acid production the cost contribution of aspartase is even lower, 0.1 /kg. This demonstrates that it is not the absolute catalyst cost but the cost contribution of the catalyst to the final product cost that has to be considered and compared. This is also true for chemical catalysts e. g., the bulk price of BINAP is 40 000/kg11171. Important parameters influencing the cost contribution are the total turnover number (mol product/mol catalyst) and the turnover frequency (mol product/mol catalyst and unit time). 

Figure 111. Reaction scheme for chemical and biocatalytic splitting of penicillin...

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