Diversa launches platform for chiral manufacture

Diversa Corporation has launched its DiscoveryPoint Nitrilase Platform based on the discovery of hundreds of new sequence-unique nitrilases.

The platform enables reactions for which no known organic or inorganic catalyst is available, the company says.

Previously, fewer than 15 microbially-derived nitrilases had been characterised and reported in the literature and public databases, but according to Dr Patrick McCroskey, senior director, business development, the new platform contains 180 nitrilases ready for screening.

Nitrilases within the DiscoveryPoint platform have been shown to enable the synthesis of a variety of enantioselective mandelic acid and aryllactic acid derivatives, as well as key intermediates for several pril drugs and the blockbuster cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor.

'This collection of new enzymes enables the synthesis of molecules under conditions where alternative chemical technologies are limited or unavailable,' said Dr Mark Burk, vp of chemical product development at Diversa.

While conventional chemical hydrolysis of nitriles requires strong acid or base and high temperature, Diversa's DiscoveryPoint nitrilases perform this reaction under mild conditions in aqueous solution or in the presence of organic solvent and are said to be uniquely robust to the typically adverse manufacturing conditions inherent in generating pharmaceutical intermediate products. Nitrilases discovered by Diversa can also be used to produce alpha-amino acids, alpha-hydroxy acids, lactones, and other valuable compounds.