Abstract
The preparation of compounds of interest from biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has attracted considerable attention. One such compound is 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF), obtained through oxidation of the hydroxyl group of HMF. Herein, we describe for the first time the whole-cell oxidation of HMF to DFF by Fusarium culmorum EAN 51. Although the chemocatalytic transformation of HMF into DFF has been widely studied, biocatalytic processes have been scarcely reported and are limited to enzymatic synthesis using the combination of several enzymes. The whole-cell transformation of HMF into DFF is preferable thanks to the inherent presence of the different enzymes, significantly reducing the cost of the process. F. culmorum showed a high capability to reduce to 2,5-di(hydroxymethyl)furan (DHMF) and oxidize to DFF the substrate with high yields depending on the nitrogen source and the concentration of peptone and glucose in the media, which highly affected the redox capability of this strain. After careful optimization of the concentration of both nutrients through response surface methodology, 50 mM HMF were transformed into DFF with a high yield (92%) and selectivity (94%). These results open a new line of investigation in the sustainable production of DFF from renewable biobased resources.
Highlights
The dependence on fossil resources to prepare chemical building blocks is a concern that manifests the need for greener chemistry based on new sustainable production pathways from renewable biobased resources
Glucose is one of the most common ingredients of microbial media;[36] it is crucial for the biotransformation of HMF by Fusarium species[22] and has proven to be a good carbon source for the production of galactose oxidase (GO) by Fusarium species.[37]
Results indicated that the oxidation capability of F. culmorum was highly affected by the concentration of glucose and peptone in the growth medium
Summary
The dependence on fossil resources to prepare chemical building blocks is a concern that manifests the need for greener chemistry based on new sustainable production pathways from renewable biobased resources. There was HMF reduction to DHMF with high yields (data not shown), indicating that the way of inoculation of the fungus has a significant effect on the HMF biotransformation Another possibility that is currently being considered is to perform a biphasic system with a solvent that separates the DFF produced from the media. Fusarium species are natural producers of the enzyme GO,[23,24] which catalyzes the oxidation of HMF to DFF with quantitative yields in combination with catalase and HRP.[15,16] Arguably, F. culmorum can produce the enzymes needed for the efficient oxidation of HMF to DFF, but their expression is highly dependent on the nitrogen source and the peptone and glucose concentrations in the media. The novel process presented could be used as an intermediate step in the synthesis of other HMF derivatives (such as FDCA) produced through further oxidation of DFF
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