Halohydrin dehalogenases (HHDHs, EC 4.5.1.-) are interesting tools for the production of chiral epoxides and epoxide ring opening products. These biotechnologically relevant enzymes catalyse the reversible dehalogenation of β-haloalcohols under epoxide formation. These enzymes can also be applied in the formation of novel carbon-carbon, carbon-nitrogen, or carbon-oxygen bonds (see Figure 1).
Due to their promiscuous epoxide ring-opening activity, cyanide, azide, or nitrite are accepted as nucleophiles and enable access to a diverse range of products and provide an additional biocatalytic strategy for the preparation of chiral compounds. Together with a university partner we discovered more than 33 novel HHDHs by a rational data mining approach and patented the novel catalytic toolbox which presents by far the largest available set of wild-type HHDHs.1
Afterwards the production process was scaled up to enable commercial supply of these unique biocatalysts. Seven selected HHDHs were incorporated into our catalogue business. This is a successful example of how Enzymicals bridges the gap between academia and industrial needs. We make biocatalytic potential available for efficient chemistry and supply robust catalysts to the synthetic community.
In the Horizon2020 Project CARBAZYMES, Enzymicals applies its unique set of HHDHs for a process of manufacturing an intermediate for a frequently used drug. For this the unique enzymes produced by Enzymicals are tested, and the process will be increased up to the 100L scale.
To speed up process development, Enzymicals has continuously compiled new screening sets and developed 'ready-to-use' enzyme kits. The first kits that we offered contained esterases and transaminases respectively; our newest enzyme panel is for the HHDHs. These robust sets of biocatalysts are easy to use, address a range of chemical problems, and produce rapid results. The kits contain novel enzymes, reagents and robust and easy step-by-step procedures that offer all chemists, who until now are unfamiliar with enzymes, a simple way to implement biocatalytic reactions (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: Enzyme kits from Enzymicals
Thus Enzymicals keeps an eye on upcoming customer demands and offers novel biocatalytic solutions for the synthetic chemist. We deliver solutions from concept to completion to create and develop high performance protein-based products and processes. Together with our partners we offer a full service package for catalyst supply at commercial stage. In addition to the offer in our catalogue all catalysts are available in different grades of purity.
If you are interested in biocatalytic opportunities for your target substance, you are welcome to visit us at ACHEMA in Hall 9.2 Stand E77 or email Enzymicals at info@enzymicals.com.
Reference
1. Schallmey, M., Koopmeiners, J., Wells, E., Wardenga, R., & Schallmey, A. (2014). Expanding the halohydrin dehalogenase enzyme family: Identification of novel enzymes by database mining. Applied and environmental microbiology, 80(23), 7303-7315.
