Aqueous-organic System Research Articles

Diffusion-Regulated Phase-Transfer Catalysis for Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in an Aqueous/Organic Biphasic System

A concept based on diffusion-regulated phase-transfer catalysis (DRPTC) in an aqueous-organic biphasic system with copper-mediated initiators for continuous activator regeneration is successfully developed for atom transfer radical polymerization (ICAR ATRP) (termed DRPTC-based ICAR ATRP here), using methyl methacrylate (MMA) as a model monomer, ethyl α-bromophenylacetate (EBrPA) as an initiator, and tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (TPMA) as a ligand. In this system, the monomer and initiating species in toluene (organic phase) and the catalyst complexes in water (aqueous phase) are simply mixed under stirring at room temperature. The trace catalyst complexes transfer into the organic phase via diffusion to trigger ICAR ATRP of MMA with ppm level catalyst content once the system is heated to the polymerization temperature (75 °C). It is found that well-defined PMMA with controlled molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions can be obtained easily. Furthermore, the polymerization can be conducted in the presence of limited amounts of air without using tedious degassed procedures. After cooling to room temperature, the upper organic phase is decanted and the lower aqueous phase is reused for another 10 recycling turnovers with ultra low loss of catalyst and ligand loading. At the same time, all the recycled catalyst complexes retain nearly perfect catalytic activity and controllability, indicating a facile and economical strategy for catalyst removal and recycling.

Upscale production of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate by using carbonyl reductase coupled with glucose dehydrogenase in aqueous-organic solvent system.

(S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((S)-CHBE) is an important chiral intermediate to synthesize the side chain of cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin. To biosynthesize the (S)-CHBE, a recombinant Escherichia coli harboring the carbonyl reductase and glucose dehydrogenase was successfully constructed. The recombinant E. coli was cultured in a 500-L fermentor; after induction and expression, the enzyme activity and cell biomass were increased to 23,661.65U/L and 13.90g DCW/L which was 3.24 and 2.60-folds compared with those in the 50L fermentor. The biocatalytic process for the synthesis of (S)-CHBE in an aqueous-organic solvent system was constructed and optimized with a substrate fed-batch strategy. The ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate concentration reached to 1.7M, and the (S)-CHBE with yield of 97.2% and enantiomeric excess (e.e.) of 99% was obtained after 4-h reaction in a 50-L reactor. In this study, the space-time yield and space-time yield per gram of biomass (dry cell weight, DCW) were 413.17mM/h and 27.55mM/h/g DCWfor(S)-CHBE production, respectively, which were the highest values as compared to previous reports. Finally, (S)-CHBE was extracted from the reaction mixture with 82% of yield and 95% of purity. This study paved the foundation for the upscale production of (S)-CHBE by biocatalysis method.

A rapid protein sample preparation method based on organic-aqueous microwave irradiation technique

Fast and efficient sample preparation methods are a prerequisite for protein identification in bottom-up proteomics. Here, an innovative microwave irradiation sample preparation method was developed based on an optimized organic-aqueous solvent system for protein identification. Specifically, protein solutions containing high-concentration acetonitrile were subjected to 5 min microwave irradiation. After cooling down, trypsin was added and the digestion was performed with 30 s microwave irradiation, and the resulting peptides were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). A shortened processing time of only 5.5 min is needed with this method (more than 12 h is necessary in the traditional overnight protein sample preparation). Moreover, due to the absence of urea and other chaotropic reagents, the digests can be readily identified by MALDI-TOF MS. When an assessment of this method was performed by digesting a model protein BSA, 69% ± 3% sequence coverage corresponding to 47 ± 3 peptides was obtained, which shows better protein identification than that from the standard overnight protein sample preparation method (51% ± 2% sequence coverage and 23 ± 1 peptides). Another model protein a-casein was used for the analysis of protein phosphorylation with the newly developed method that yielded 4 phosphopeptides with 8 phosphorylation sites, whereas 3 phosphopeptides with 2 phosphorylation sites were obtained from the traditional overnight approach. Moreover, the organic-aqueous microwave irradiation method provides effective digestion for proteins down to fmol.

Biphasic Reaction System Allows for Conversion of Hydrophobic Substrates by Amine Dehydrogenases

A novel amine dehydrogenase, “F-AmDH”, catalyzes the reversible reduction of prochiral ketones to chiral amines. However, many targeted hydrophobic substrates of F-AmDH show little to no solubility in an aqueous medium. The introduction of water-miscible organic solvents was unsuccessful because of AmDH deactivation. In a biphasic aqueous–organic system, F-AmDH, coupled with formate dehydrogenase (FDH), and hydrophilic co-factors are envisioned to remain in the aqueous phase while the hydrophobic substrate partitions between the phases. The advantages include a larger amount of total substrate present in the system, straightforward product removal, and reduced or negligible substrate and product inhibition. We succeeded in generating chiral amines from hydrophobic substrates that were previously unattainable because of the low solubility of the ketone substrate in aqueous medium. The partition coefficient played an important role in establishing optimal reaction conditions. Specific activity was found to be comparable between aqueous and biphasic reaction systems for substrates that showed some solubility. Thus, biphasic reaction conditions widen the range of substrates for the production of chiral amines using amine dehydrogenases.

Preparation of novel cross-linked and octylated caseinates using a biphasic enzymatic procedure and their functional properties.

A novel microbial transglutaminase-catalyzed aqueous-organic biphasic reaction system was successfully developed to prepare caseinate derivatives by cross-linking and incorporating nonpolar octyl tails for the first time. SDS-PAGE and (1)H NMR analysis confirmed that cross-linking and octyl conjugation occurred simultaneously. The octyl substitution degree (SD) was measured by (1)H NMR and used as an index to determine a suitable reaction condition. It was found that at the condition of 0.125% (w/v) protein concentration and 6 h of reaction time, the modified caseinate had the highest SD of 28.96%. The modified caseinate also had an increased surface hydrophobicity, better emulsifying activity, and improved thermal and salt stabilities. However, its emulsion stability or in vitro enzymatic digestibility was slightly lower than that of the native caseinate.

Vibration Spectroscopy Stability Investigation of 12-Tungstosilicic Acid Solution

Heteropoly acids (HPA) attract the attention of large variety of scientists, due to HPA’s extraordinary interesting properties and possible application fields. 12-tungstosilicic acid (WSiA), the Keggin type HPA, has some promising characteristic to be used in catalytic processes, but with not well-defined stability. Raman spectroscopy was used for in situ analysis of WSiA hydrolysis in detail in a wide pH range of 1–12. Raman spectroscopy is able to give an almost immediate response/spectrum as a representation of the exact profile/composition of the solution. This method and FTIR spectroscopy, as a complementary technique, enabled recording of the solid and liquid phases of the same sample under different conditions. Our results confirm that the decomposition pathways of WSiA in solution proceed via the formation of the lacunary monovacant anion at pH > 6.4. This anion is a major constituent in pH range up to 9.5. With further increases in pH this species convert to the trivacant lacunary anion. The total decomposition of the Keggin anion to silicate and tungstate occurs at pH > 11.0. The results of the performed study contribute to understand the behavior of WSiA in the water–methanol solution, as the model system of aqueous-organic system. It is concluded that addition of methanol in aqueous solution of WSiA leads to expansion of the pH region where Keggin anion is stable up to 8.1 and above this pH value, precipitation occurs. The obtained data clarify the stability range of WSiA in both water and water–methanol solutions, as well.

Bioproduction of 4-vinylphenol from corn cob alkaline hydrolyzate in two-phase extractive fermentation using free or immobilized recombinant E. coli expressing pad gene

In situ extractive fermentation was used to produce 4-vinyl derivatives from hydroxycinnamic acids extracted from corn cobs by recombinant Escherichia coli cells expressing Lactobacillus plantarum phenolic acid descarboxylase (PAD) gene. This microorganism mainly produced 4-vinylphenol (4VP) from p-coumaric acid (p-CA). In the first study , we observed that the concentrations of 4VP are higher than 1g/L which had a negative impact on decarboxylation of p-CA to 4VP by recombinant E. coli cells. Because of this, and in order to improve the downstream process, a two-phase aqueous-organic solvent system was developed. The results of the extractive fermentation indicated that it was possible to use hydrolyzates as aqueous phase to bioproduce 4VP, and recover simultaneously the product in the organic phase containing hexane. The detoxification of pre-treated corn cob alkaline hydrolyzate improved 4VP production up to 1003.5mg/L after 24h fermentation (QP=41.813mg/Lh). Additionally, preliminary experiments using cells immobilized in calcium alginate showed to be a good system for the biotransform of p-CA to 4VP in extractive fermentation, although the process hindered partially the recovery of 4VP in the organic phase.

Enhanced 3-methylcatechol production by Pseudomonas putida TODE1 in a two-phase biotransformation system.

In this study, genetically engineered Pseudomonas putida TODE1 served as a biocatalyst for the bioproduction of valuable 3-methylcatechol (3MC) from toluene in an aqueous-organic two-phase system. The two-phase system was used as an approach to increase the biocatalyst efficiency. Among the organic solvent tested, n-decanol offered several benefits including having the highest partitioning of 3MC, with a high 3MC yield and low cell toxicity. The effect of media supplementation with carbon/energy sources (glucose, glycerol, acetate and succinate), divalent metal cations (Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Mn(2+) and Fe(2+)), and short-chain alcohols (ethanol, n-propanol and n-butanol) as a cofactor regeneration system on the toluene dioxygenase (TDO) activity, cell viability, and overall 3MC yield were evaluated. Along with the two-step cell preparation protocol, supplementation of the medium with 4 mM glycerol as a carbon/energy source, and 0.4 mM Fe(2+) as a cofactor for TDO significantly enhanced the 3MC production level. When in combination with the use of n-decanol and n-butanol as the organic phase, a maximum overall 3MC concentration of 31.8 mM (166 mM in the organic phase) was obtained in a small-scale production, while it was at 160.5 mM (333.2 mM in the organic phase) in a 2-L scale. To our knowledge, this is the highest 3MC yield obtained from a TDO-based system so far.

Biphasic catalysis using amphiphilic polyphenols-chelated noble metals as highly active and selective catalysts

In the field of catalysis, it is highly desired to develop novel catalysts that combine the advantages of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Here we disclose that the use of plant pholyphenol as amphiphilic large molecule ligand/stabilizer allows for the preparation of noble metal complex and noble metal nanoparticle catalysts. These catalysts are found to be highly selective and active in aqueous-organic biphasic catalysis of cinnamaldehyde and quinoline, and can be reused at least 3 times without significant loss of activity. Moreover, the catalytic activity and reusability of the catalysts can be rationally controlled by simply adjusting the content of polyphenols in the catalysts. Our strategy may be extended to design a wide range of aqueous-organic biphasic catalysis system.

Characterization of a newly synthesized carbonyl reductase and construction of a biocatalytic process for the synthesis of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate with high space-time yield

A carbonyl reductase (SCR2) gene was synthesized and expressed in Escherichia coli after codon optimization to investigate its biochemical properties and application in biosynthesis of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((S)-CHBE), which is an important chiral synthon for the side chain of cholesterol-lowering drug. The recombinant SCR2 was purified and characterized using ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) as substrate. The specific activity of purified enzyme was 11.9 U mg(-1). The optimum temperature and pH for enzyme activity were 45 °C and pH 6.0, respectively. The half-lives of recombinant SCR2 were 16.5, 7.7, 2.2, 0.41, and 0.05 h at 30 °C, 35 °C, 40 °C, 45 °C, and 50 °C, respectively, and it was highly stable in acidic environment. This SCR2 displayed a relatively narrow substrate specificity. The apparent K m and V max values of purified enzyme for COBE are 6.4 mM and 63.3 μmol min(-1) mg(-1), respectively. The biocatalytic process for the synthesis of (S)-CHBE was constructed by this SCR2 in an aqueous-organic solvent system with a substrate fed-batch strategy. At the final COBE concentration of 1 M, (S)-CHBE with yield of 95.3% and e.e. of 99% was obtained after 6-h reaction. In this process, the space-time yield per gram of biomass (dry cell weight, DCW) and turnover number of NADP(+) to (S)-CHBE were 26.5 mmol L(-1) h(-1) g(-1) DCW and 40,000 mol/mol, respectively, which were the highest values as compared with other works.

Fusion of a Flavin-Based Fluorescent Protein to Hydroxynitrile Lyase from Arabidopsis thaliana Improves Enzyme Stability

Hydroxynitrile lyase from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtHNL) was fused to different fluorescent reporter proteins. Whereas all fusion constructs retained enzymatic activity and fluorescence in vivo and in vitro, significant differences in activity and pH stability were observed. In particular, flavin-based fluorescent reporter (FbFP) fusions showed almost 2 orders of magnitude-increased half-lives in the weakly acidic pH range compared to findings for the wild-type enzyme. Analysis of the quaternary structure of the respective FbFP-AtHNL fusion proteins suggested that this increased stability is apparently caused by oligomerization mediated via the FbFP tag. Moreover, the increased stability of the fusion proteins enabled the efficient synthesis of (R)-mandelonitrile in an aqueous-organic two-phase system at a pH of <5. Remarkably, (R)-mandelonitrile synthesis is not possible using wild-type AtHNL under the same conditions due to the inherent instability of this enzyme below pH 5. The fusion strategy presented here reveals a surprising means for the stabilization of enzymes and stresses the importance of a thorough in vitro characterization of in vivo-employed fluorescent fusion proteins.

Purification of pectinase from mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. Chokanan) waste using an aqueous organic phase system: A potential low cost source of the enzyme

As a novel method of purification, an aqueous organic phase system (AOPS) was employed to purify pectinase from mango waste. The effect of different parameters, such as the alcohol concentration (ethanol, 1-propanol, and 2-propanol), the salt type and concentration (ammonium sulfate, potassium phosphate and sodium citrate), the feed stock crude load, the aqueous phase pH and NaCl concentration, were investigated in the recovery of pectinase from mango peel. The partition coefficient (K), selectivity (S), purification factor (PF) and yield (Y, %) were investigated in this study as important parameters for the evaluation of enzyme recovery. The desirable partition efficiency for pectinase purification was achieved in an AOPS of 19% (w/w) ethanol and 22% (w/w) potassium phosphate in the presence of 5% (w/w) NaCl at pH 7.0. Based on the system, the purification factor of pectinase was enhanced 11.7, with a high yield of 97.1%.

Microgel‐Stabilized Smart Emulsions for Biocatalysis

Emulsions stabilized by stimuli-responsive microgels were used to perform enzyme catalysis. Many substrates are poorly water-soluble, while enzymes naturally require aqueous environments, thus resulting in a two-phase aqueous-organic system. Smart microgels allow an enzyme-catalyzed reaction to be performed in an emulsion that can be broken under controlled conditions to separate the reaction product and to recycle the enzyme (E) and the microgel.

Enzymatic synthesis of fructooligosaccharides by inulinases from Aspergillus niger and Kluyveromyces marxianus NRRL Y-7571 in aqueous–organic medium

This work is focused on the synthesis of the fructooligosaccharides (FOS) from sucrose and inulin, using free, immobilized and pre-treated immobilized inulinase from Kluyveromyces marxianus NRRL Y 7571 and Aspergillus niger in an aqueous–organic system. Initially, the influence of pre-treatment using four different gases, propane, n-butane, CO2 and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), was investigated towards FOS production and best results were found when both enzymes were previously treated with LPG. The best reaction yields were obtained when the immobilized enzymes were treated with LPG. Considering FOS synthesis using the enzyme from A. niger, yields of 26.62% of GF2 (kestose), 30.62% of GF3 (nystose) and 8.47% of GF4 (fructosyl nystose) were achieved using sucrose as substrate. Using inulinases from K. marxianus NRRL Y 7571, 11.89% of GF2 and 20.83% of GF3 were obtained, using inulin as substrate. However, promising results were achieved using the free form of inulinase from A. niger (77.19% of GF2; 14.03% of GF3 and 0.07% of GF4) using inulin as substrate.

ChemInform Abstract: Shape and Size Controlled Pt Nanocrystals as Novel Model Catalysts

AbstractReview: 58 refs.

Assessment of fructooligosaccharides production from sucrose in aqueous and aqueous-organic systems using immobilized inulinase from Kluyveromyces marxianus NRRL Y-7571

This work investigated the fructooligosaccharides (FOS) synthesis by immobilized inulinase obtained from Kluyveromyces marxianus NRRL Y-7571 in aqueous and aqueous-organic systems using sucrose as substrate. The sequential strategy of experimental design was used to optimize the FOS conversion in both systems. For the aqueous-organic system, a 2(6-2) fractional design was carried out to evaluate the effects of temperature, sucrose concentration, pH, aqueous/organic ratio, enzyme activity, and polyethylene glycol concentration. For the aqueous system, a central composite design for the enzyme activity and the sucrose concentration was carried out. The highest fructooligosaccharides yield (Y FOS) for the aqueous-organic system was 18.2 ± S0.9 wt%, at 40 ºC, pH 5.0, sucrose concentration of 60% (w/w), enzyme activity of 4 U.mL-1, and aqueous/organic ratio of 25/75 wt%. The highest Y FOS for the aqueous system was 14.6 ± 0.9 wt% at 40 ºC, pH 5.0, sucrose concentration of 60 wt%, and enzyme activity of 4.0 U.mL-1.

Shape and Size Controlled Pt Nanocrystals as Novel Model Catalysts

A tremendous development of nanotechnology enabled us to prepare precisely structure-controlled nanocrystals (NCs). Recently, such structure controlled NCs have been applied as model catalysts with controlled active sites to evaluate reaction mechanisms. Here, we review our recent works on preparation of shape controlled Pt NCs, such as cube and wire, and on application as model catalysts for olefin hydrogenation to assess active Pt sites. A hydrogen reduction method of Pt(II) ion was adopted in an aqueous phase to prepare Pt cube in the presence of shape forming agent (NaI) and organic protective agent (sodium polyacrylate or sodium succinate). We succeed to prepare Pt cube with high size and shape selectivity, followed by very small Pt cube of less than 3 nm. Such simultaneous control of both size and shape of Pt NCs has been successfully achieved by the sophisticated tuning of multiple conditions for the growth kinetics of Pt nuclei during hydrogen reduction of PtCl4 2− in aq. N-, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solution. The key strategy is to produce small Pt nuclei and to avoid the excessive growth of Pt nuclei, in conjunction with face selective adsorption of anionic protective and shape-forming agents by the control of solvent system. For the preparation of Pt nanowires with high anisotropy, template-assisted methods have been usually used. We have developed facile liquid phase preparation method at room temperature in air without any template. The key factors of the method are: firstly, to use aqueous organic solvent system to control solvent polarity; secondly, to use co-solvent DMF as shape forming agent; thirdly, to use excess NaBH4 as a stabilizer of Pt nuclei to prevent formation of conventional particles. Single-crystalline Pt nanowires of 2 nm diameter and more than micron length were easily obtained by the reduction of Pt(IV) with excess NaBH4 in water–DMF–toluene solution (1:8:5 volume ratio) in a short reaction period of 3 h. Then, we have applied shape-controlled Pt NCs protected with PAA prepared by our original methods, such as cube, tetrahedron and wire, as model catalysts for olefin (cis- and trans-stilbenes) hydrogenation in ethanol to evaluate the active facet of Pt catalysts; e.g., Pt(111) or Pt(100). The estimated TOF values for the hydrogenation of cis- and trans-stilbene decreased in the order: cube > cuboctahedron > tetrahedron ~ nanowire. This tendency indicates that Pt(100) show high activity compared with Pt(111). The result is compatible with measurement of XPS and Raman spectra, suggesting strong adsorption of reactant on Pt(100). Hydrogenation of olefins (1-hexene and cyclohexene) has been carried out over Pt cubes with different sizes (8.2–10.1 nm) as catalysts to get information about active sites of Pt catalysts, e.g., flat facet or edge/corner atoms. The results of similar TOF values among Pt cubes with different sizes imply that the active sites are flat facets.

Capillary electrophoresis with LIF detection for assessment of mitochondrial number based on the cardiolipin content

Cardiolipin is a mitochondria-specific phospholipid known to be intimately involved with numerous mitochondrial functions. Accordingly, quantitative determination of cardiolipin provides a valuable aspect for assessing mitochondrial content and function. The current study was undertaken to develop a simple and reliable method for direct analysis of cardiolipin with particular application for the assessment of mitochondrial number of HepG2 cells. The method presented is based on the online 10-N-nonyl acridine orange (NAO) interaction with cardiolipin using CE with LIF detection. An aqueous-organic solvent system composed of 10% H(2) O-40% methanol-50% ACN (all v/v) containing 20 μM NAO provides both short analysis time within 2 min and a definite fluorescence enhancement at 525 nm for NAO-cardiolipin complex as compared with NAO alone. Under the optimum condition, a calibration curve between the peak area and the concentration of cardiolipin was established in the range of 0.1-200 μM with a correlation coefficient of 0.9955. The detection limit is 9 nM. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of cardiolipin in mitochondria from HepG2 cells. A new biochemical method estimating the mitochondrial number per cell was developed and used together with the proposed method for cardiolipin per cell measurement and cardiolipin per mitochondrion reported before.

Continuous steroid biotransformations in microchannel reactors

The use of microchannel reactor based technologies within the scope of bioprocesses as process intensification and production platforms is gaining momentum. Such trend can be ascribed a particular set of characteristics of microchannel reactors, namely the enhanced mass and heat transfer, combined with easier handling and smaller volumes required, as compared to traditional reactors. In the present work, a continuous production process of 4-cholesten-3-one by the enzymatic oxidation of cholesterol without the formation of any by-product was assessed. The production was carried out within Y-shaped microchannel reactors in an aqueous-organic two-phase system. Substrate was delivered from the organic phase to aqueous phase containing cholesterol oxidase and the product formed partitions back to the organic phase. The aqueous phase was then forced through a plug-flow reactor, containing immobilized catalase. This step aimed at the reduction of hydrogen peroxide formed as a by-product during cholesterol oxidation, to avoid cholesterol oxidase deactivation due to said by-product. This setup was compared with traditional reactors and modes of operation. The results showed that microchannel reactor geometry outperformed traditional stirred tank and plug-flow reactors reaching similar conversion yields at reduced residence time. Coupling the plug-flow reactor containing catalase enabled aqueous phase reuse with maintenance of 30% catalytic activity of cholesterol oxidase while eliminating hydrogen peroxide. A final production of 36 m of cholestenone was reached after 300 hours of operation.

Amphiphilic tannin-stabilized Rh nanopartciles: A highly active and reusable catalyst in biphasic aqueous–organic system

Abstract A series of Rh nanoparticles were prepared by using plant tannins as stabilizers. The as-prepared plant tannin-stabilized Rh nanoparticles were subsequently characterized by TEM, DES, FTIR and XPS. Due to the amphiphilic nature of plant tannins, the plant tannin-stabilized Rh nanoparticles were highly active in aqueous–organic biphasic hydrogenation of styrene. Furthermore, the as-prepared Rh catalyst can be reused 5 times without significant loss of catalytic activity, thus exhibiting a remarkable reusability.