Advancements in Industrial Biocatalysis

This paper examines biocatalysis’ critical role in green chemistry, focusing on its industrial applications, issues with enzyme stability and cost, and the bright future of enzyme engineering for sustainable chemical synthesis.

1. Introduction to Biocatalysis

Biocatalysis is a critical component of green chemistry, providing a sustainable method for accelerating chemical processes with enzymes and microorganisms. Enzymes, serving as biocatalysts, exhibit extraordinary specificity, efficiently driving reactions with excellent selectivity under mild circumstances (Silva and Pietrobom, 2016). This specificity is related to enzymes’ discrete active regions, which allow for selective interactions with specific substrates and exact reaction results (Rodrigues et al., 2013). Furthermore, immobilization of enzymes can improve their characteristics and efficiency when compared to free versions (Rodrigues et al., 2013).

The function of biocatalysis in organic synthesis highlights its importance in green chemistry, as it provides an environmentally benign option that coincides with the growing demand for sustainable practices. Biocatalysis has shown to be a flexible tool in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, allowing for the manufacture of valuable molecules like as active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) using sustainable manufacturing procedures (Raynbird et al., 2020). The use of biocatalysis in such applications not only increases efficiency but also minimizes the environmental effect and energy consumption associated with typical chemical processes (Raynbird et al., 2020).

Furthermore, biocatalysis has various advantages over traditional chemical catalysts, including higher selectivity, greater sustainability, cheaper operating costs, and lesser toxicity (Espina et al., 2021). These benefits lead to cleaner production processes, lower environmental impact, and increased safety for operational people (Espina et al., 2021). Biocatalysis integration into industrial processes has become common practice, suggesting its maturity as a technique that contributes to the advancement of green chemistry (Gutiérrez et al., 2010).

Biocatalysis has emerged as an intelligent and sustainable method in chemical synthesis, offering great efficiency, specificity, and ecologically benign processes. Its application in a variety of industries highlights its importance in accelerating the transition to greener and more sustainable chemistry processes.

2. Applications of Biocatalysis in Industry

Biocatalysis is important in many industries, including medicines, chemicals, and food, as it provides long-term and efficient solutions for complex molecule synthesis, biofuel production, and food flavor enhancement. In the pharmaceutical sector, biocatalysis has become indispensable, allowing for the efficient and selective synthesis of chiral medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) (Adams et al., 2019). The capacity to tailor enzymes has broadened the use of biocatalysis in pharmaceutical manufacture, matching the needs of industrial processes (Truppo, 2017).

In the chemical industry, biocatalysis is especially useful for producing high-value carboxylic acids, including chiral versions, which are used in a variety of industries including food, materials, and medicines (Wu et al., 2020). The immobilization of enzymes has made tremendous progress, increasing their stability and reusability in industrial processes and thereby contributing to sustainable chemistry (Sheldon & Woodley, 2017). Furthermore, guided evolution of enzymes has enabled the development of biocatalysts that are more environmentally benign than traditional catalysts, helping industries ranging from bioremediation to pharmaceuticals (Porter et al., 2015).

Biocatalysis is important in the food sector since it improves flavors and textures while also providing a green and efficient method to food production (Federsel et al., 2021). Enzyme immobilization on a variety of substrates, including cellulose fibers and polymer nanoparticles, has resulted in reusable biocatalytic systems for cascade reactions, helping to develop sustainable food processing processes (Goldhahn et al., 2019; Tian et al., 2023). Biocatalysis is used in food production for a variety of purposes, including improving food preservation, emulsification, and overall quality.

Biocatalysis’s wide range of industrial applications highlight its importance in advancing sustainable practices and innovation in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and food sectors. Continuous advances in enzyme engineering, immobilization techniques, and process optimization are paving the road for biocatalysis to become a widely used tool in current industrial processes.

3. Challenges and Future Perspectives

Current issues in biocatalysis include enzyme stability, cost-effectiveness, and the requirement for broader substrate ranges. Enzyme stability is critical since enzymes are frequently exposed to temperature, pH, salt concentration, co-solvents, shear forces, and surface contacts, all of which can impact their activity and longevity in industrial processes (Bommarius & Paye 2013). Furthermore, the cost of enzyme manufacturing and purification remains a substantial barrier, limiting the scalability and commercial viability of biocatalytic processes (Goodwin et al. 2019). Furthermore, the limited substrate range of enzymes is a hurdle, demanding the development of innovative biocatalysts with broader substrate specificity in order to broaden the application of biocatalysis in varied chemical transformations (Colin et al., 2015).

Looking ahead, ongoing biocatalysis research aims to solve these problems by advances in enzyme engineering, immobilization techniques, and the identification of novel biocatalysts. Enzyme engineering is critical for improving enzyme stability, activity, and substrate specificity, allowing the creation of custom biocatalysts for specific industrial applications (Wu et al., 2020). Immobilization approaches, such as those employing metal-organic frameworks and carbon nanotubes, seek to improve enzyme operating stability and reusability while overcoming obstacles associated with enzyme leaching and structural perturbations (Neupane et al., 2019). Furthermore, the discovery of novel biocatalysts, such as enzymes from unknown microbial origins and metagenomic research, has the potential to yield enzymes with distinct catalytic characteristics and broader substrate ranges (Colin et al., 2015).

The future of biocatalysis includes the development of continuous-flow systems, microreactors, and Pickering emulsion catalysis to improve process efficiency and productivity (Fernandes & Carvalho, 2021; Wei et al., 2022; Ni et al., 2022). These technologies seek to enhance biocatalytic reactions, improve mass transfer, and allow for the seamless integration of biocatalysis into industrial processes. Furthermore, self-assembled polymeric nano- and microreactors, as well as polymer-induced biofilms, provide novel approaches to improving biocatalytic efficiency and stability (Wang et al., 2022; Adoni et al., 2022).

To summarize, while challenges remain in biocatalysis, ongoing research efforts in enzyme engineering, immobilization techniques, and the exploration of novel biocatalysts hold promise for overcoming these obstacles and moving the field forward toward more sustainable and efficient chemical synthesis processes.

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