Asymmetric bioreduction of acetophenones by Baker's yeast and its cell-free extract encapsulated in sol–gel silica materials

Abstract

Baker's yeast (BY) encapsulated in silica materials was synthesized using a yeast cell suspension and its cell-free extract during a sol–gel reaction of tetramethoxysilane with nitric acid as a catalyst. The synthesized samples were fully characterized using various methods, such as scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption–desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and differential thermal analysis. The BY cells were easily encapsulated inside silica-gel networks, and the ratio of the cells in the silica gel was approximately 75wt%, which indicated that a large volume of BY was trapped with a small amount of silica. The enzyme activity (asymmetric reduction of prochiral ketones) of BY and its cell-free extract encapsulated in silica gel was investigated in detail. The activities and enantioselectivities of free and encapsulated BY were similar to those of acetophenone and its fluorine derivatives, which indicated that the conformation structure of BY enzymes inside silica-gel networks did not change. In addition, the encapsulated BY exhibited considerably better solvent (methanol) stability and recyclability compared to free BY solution. We expect that the development of BY encapsulated in sol–gel silica materials will significantly impact the industrial-scale advancement of high-efficiency and low-cost biocatalysts for the synthesis of valuable chiral alcohols.