Whole-Cell Biocatalytic Processes with Ionic Liquids

Abstract

Whole-cell-based biocatalysis in ionic liquids (ILs)-containing systems has attracted increasing interest in recent years. Compared to bioreactions catalyzed by isolated enzymes, the major advantages of using whole cell in biocatalytic processes are that cells provide a natural intracellular environment for the enzymes to function with cofactors regeneration in situ. An increasing number of renewable ILs are now accessible as a result of the ongoing progress in designing strategy of ILs and the sustainable environment requirement. The toxicity of ILs to microbial cells and the biodegradability are two of the crucial factors that allow the biocatalysis in ILs being applied in practice rather than in bench-scale. Applications of whole-cell biocatalysis in IL-containing systems have, to date, been focused on the production of valuable compounds, mainly through reduction, oxidation, and hydrolytic reactions. The mechanism research of ILs affecting the whole-cell biocatalysis offers the possibility to integrat...