Elsevier

Biotechnology Advances

Volume 33, Issue 5, September–October 2015, Pages 481-510
Biotechnology Advances

Research review paper
Biocatalysis and biotransformation in Brazil: An overview

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2015.02.001Get rights and content

Highlights

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    Bioreduction, biooxidation and deracemization by fungi, bacteria, plants and algae

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    Chemo-enzymatic resolution of substrates containing Si, B, Se and Te

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    Biotransformation of nitriles and epoxides by microorganisms

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    Epoxidation of alkenes by lipases

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    Enzymatic assays using fluorescent probes

Abstract

This review presents the recent research in biocatalysis and biotransformation in Brazil. Several substrates were biotransformed by fungi, bacteria and plants. Biocatalytic deracemization of secondary alcohols, oxidation of sulfides, sp3 CH hydroxylation and epoxidation of alkenes were described. Chemo-enzymatic resolution of racemic alcohols and amines were carried out with lipases using several substrates containing heteroatoms such as silicon, boron, selenium and tellurium. Biotransformation of nitriles by marine fungi, hydrolysis of epoxides by microorganisms of Brazilian origin and biooxidation of natural products were described. Enzymatic reactions under microwave irradiation, continuous flow, and enzymatic assays using fluorescent probes were reported.

Introduction

The importance of biocatalysis in organic synthesis, especially in the industrial synthesis of pharmaceuticals, is well established and dismisses further comments (Aldridge, 2013, Patel, 2008).

Although chemistry has experienced a notable development in Brazil over the last three decades, until the beginning of the present century, the application of enzymes for performing synthetic transformations had been explored by a reduced number of chemists in the academy, and most of the work in this field was concerned with the use of isolated lipases and baker's yeast to perform kinetic resolutions of racemates and stereoselective reductions of ketones, respectively.

In 2002 we started the organization of periodical meetings, bringing together Brazilian chemists and international professionals specialized in biocatalysis. Since then, a number of Brazilian laboratories started to work in this field using isolated enzymes, plants and microorganisms to perform chemical transformations. In the forthcoming pages we give an overview of the works on biocatalysis and biotransformations performed in Brazil; most of them in the last five years. This article does not intend to be an exhaustive review, but just to give an idea about the state of the art of this field in the country, especially in the academy.

Section snippets

Reduction

Biocatalyzed stereoselective reduction is an important synthetic tool, since it introduces chirality in an eco-friendly way in molecules that can be intermediates in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and fragrances. It is well known that the biological activities of these compounds highly depend on their enantiomeric purity (Nakamura and Matsuda, 2006). In view of this fact, biocatalytic reductions have attracted the attention of the synthetic organic chemists.

Miscellaneous biotransformation by microorganisms of Brazilian origin

Brazil has a very rich, but scientifically unexplored biodiversity. Recently this biodiversity became the object of intensive study by the Brazilian scientific community. The exploitation of microorganisms for synthetic purpose is even more recent, and in the forthcoming sections we will comment on the most recent developments in biotransformation in Brazil employing native microorganisms.

Enzymatic assays using fluorescent probes

The search for new biocatalysts has been limited by time-consuming procedures of classical methodologies for screening the enzymatic activity of microorganisms whole cells. Protocols of miniaturized enzymatic assays using fluorescent probes have been described for purified enzymes, and the method was successfully adapted for the enzymatic activity screening with whole cells (Bicalho et al., 2004, Mantovani et al., 2010). The general principle of the technique using fluorescent probes involves a

Conclusion

From the works commented in this overview, it can be concluded that biocatalysis is becoming an active area of research in Brazil. The next step for the improvement of this important branch of organic chemistry in the country should be the formation of multidisciplinary teams composed by synthetic organic chemists, microbiologists, molecular biologists, experts in bioinformatics, enzymologists, among other specialists, aiming to discover and improve the performance of new enzymes derived from

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Prof. Rodrigo O. M. de Souza for the invitation to write this overview. CNPq (grant 301751/2009-9), FAPESP (grant 50878-7/2011) and CAPES (grant 1313652) are acknowledged for the financial support.

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