A novel green enzymatic synthetic route of 2, 3-dihydroxybenzoic acid from glucose and CO2 fixation

Abstract

The enzymatic carbon fixation is a promising approach to deal with greenhouse gas emission and is usually accompanied with energy consumption during the reduction of CO2. As a very important route, the carboxylation can convert CO2 to organic carbon without extra requirement of reduction power and is hoped as a greener solution, especially for some non-bulk chemicals, such as medical intermediates. Here, a concept-proof trail of green enzymatic process of conversing both of CO2 and benzene to produce 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,3-DHBA), which is the intermediate for fine chemicals, is introduced with O2 from air and glucose. The results showed that the conversion catechol by 2, 3-dihydroxybenzoic acid decarboxylase (2,3-DHBD) alone was around 30 %, with an overall conversion from phenol of 2.4 %, which was limited by the in-situ production of catechol. This trail contributed a green enzymatic route for the production of 2,3-DHBA.