Abstract
The application of ionic liquids (ILs) as novel solvents in whole-cell bioconversion has a practical significance in innovation of green process engineering for sustainable environment. Therefore, a systematical evaluation of ILs based on their cationic and anionic composition is urgently demanded in the whole-cell system. In this work, production of androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (AD) via side-chain cleavage of phytosterols catalyzed by Mycobacterium sp. resting cells was employed to investigate the relationships of ILs structures with their biocompatibility and bioconversion performances. For 13 of biocompatible ILs, the viscosity, hydrophobicity, polarity and hydrogen-bond basicity, as well as IL/water composition at phase equilibrium were measured. Based upon cell membrane integrity and metabolic activity retention, some ILs with anions of [PF6] or [NTf2] showed proper Mycobacterium sp. biocompatibility. Among bioconversion systems containing water-immiscible or water-miscible ILs, [PrMIM][PF6] generated th...
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