Abstract
This Perspective discusses the literature related to two-phase biocatalysis in microfluidic droplets. Enzymes used as catalysts in biocatalysis are generally less stable in organic media than in their native aqueous environments; however, chemical and pharmaceutical compounds are often insoluble in water. The use of aqueous/organic two-phase media provides a solution to this problem and has therefore become standard practice for multiple biotransformations. In batch, two-phase biocatalysis is limited by mass transport, a limitation that can be overcome with the use of microfluidic systems. Although, two-phase biocatalysis in laminar flow systems has been extensively studied, microfluidic droplets have been primarily used for enzyme screening. In this Perspective, we summarize the limited published work on two-phase biocatalysis in microfluidic droplets and discuss the limitations, challenges, and future perspectives of this technology.
Highlights
Biocatalysis is an empowering technology in synthetic organic chemistry
Microfluidic Droplet Production and Their Applications in Two‐Phase Biocatalysis Various applications of microfluidic droplets employed in the field of biocatalysis have been reported in the literature
Polycarbonate offers the advantages of low cost, low water absorption, and good processing performance. It is the material of choice for microfluidics used in biomedical research and biological analysis, but its tendency to absorb some organic solvents makes it difficult to use for two-phase biocatalysis applications
Summary
Biocatalysis is an empowering technology in synthetic organic chemistry. The use of enzymes for chemical transformations often grants unparalleled chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity, and even enables transformations that would be impossible to achieve with conventional chemical methods [1,2,3,4]. Beyond enabling exceptionally high net substrate concentrations, two-phase biocatalysis has several key advantages, including the prevention of inhibition effects or shift of reaction equilibria via continuous product removal, as well as straightforward product isolation via phase separation [19,20]. Despite these advantages, biphasic processes are yet to become a true standard technique in biocatalysis, as the design of efficient biphasic enzymatic transformations is challenging and requires non-trivial engineering. The aforementioned challenges can be overcome with the use of microfluidic systems
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