Abstract
Gluconic acid is a multifunctional organic acid used as a bulk chemical in the food, feed, pharmaceutical, textile, metallurgy, detergent, paper, and construction industries. It is derived from glucose through a simple oxidation reaction catalyzed by glucose oxidase (EC 1.1.3.4.). Oxidation of the aldehyde group on C-1 of β-d-glucose to a carboxyl group results in the production of glucono-δ-lactone (C6H10O6) and hydrogen peroxide using molecular oxygen as the electron acceptor. Glucono-δ-lactone is further hydrolyzed to gluconic acid either spontaneously or by lactone-hydrolyzing enzyme. There are various approaches such as chemical, biochemical, and electrochemical available for its production, but microbial fermentation by Aspergillus niger using glucose oxidase is the most widely studied method. Microbial production of gluconic acid by bacteria, Gluconobacter, has also been demonstrated well. The enzyme involved in this process is glucose dehydrogenase. This chapter gives a review of microbial gluconic acid production; its recovery, properties, and applications; and the enzyme glucose oxidase.
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