Furan Carboxylic Acids Production with High Productivity by Cofactor‐engineered Whole‐cell Biocatalysts

Abstract

Furan carboxylic acids are useful chemicals in various industries. In this work, biocatalytic production of furan carboxylic acids was reported with high productivities by cofactor‐engineered Escherichia coli cells. NADH oxidase (NOX) was introduced into E. coli harboring aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) to promote intracellular NAD+ regeneration, thus significantly enhancing ALDH‐catalyzed oxidation. These engineered biocatalysts were capable of efficient aerobic oxidation of a variety of aromatic aldehydes. More importantly, they exhibited high substrate tolerance toward toxic furans. E. coli co‐expressing vanillin dehydrogenase and NOX (E. coli_CtVDH1_NOX) enabled efficient oxidation of 250 mM of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 5‐hydroxymethyl‐2‐furancarboxylic acid (HMFCA), providing a productivity of 3.7 g/L h. With E. coli_CtVDH2_NOX as catalyst, up to 240 mM of furfural and 5‐methoxymethylfurfural (MMF) could be smoothly oxidized. 2‐Furoic acid (FCA, 227 mM) and 5‐methoxymethyl‐2‐furancarboxylic acid (MMFCA, 287 mM) were produced in fed‐batch synthesis, providing the productivities of 2.0 and 5.6 g/L h, respectively.

Acceptorless dehydrogenation of alcohols to carboxylic acids by palladium nanoparticles supported on NiO: delving into metal–support cooperation in catalysis

“…For instance, 2-furancarboxylic acid derived from furfuryl alcohol is a very important chemical for the flavor and fragrance industry. 56 Similarly, piperonylic acid is a natural molecule having a benzoic acid group usually extracted from the bark of the Paracoto tree 57 that has tremendous antioxidant 58 properties. We are gratified to see that our catalyst can afford 2-furancarboxylic acid and piperonylic acid from the corresponding alcohols in moderate-to-high yields (entries 2l and 2n ).…”

Engineering Promiscuous Alcohol Dehydrogenase Activity of a Reductive Aminase AspRedAm for Selective Reduction of Biobased Furans

“…The similar phenomenon was also found in the case of the WT enzyme. Recently, we also found that aldehyde dehydrogenases preferred benzylaldehydes to furan aldehydes as substrates ( Zhang et al, 2020b ). Therefore, it seems to be a common catalytic feature of enzymes, likely because of the higher richness of benzene-based chemicals in nature.…”

(Chemo)biocatalytic Upgrading of Biobased Furanic Platforms to Chemicals, Fuels, and Materials: A Comprehensive Review

“…coli strains overexpressing Ct ALDHs were engineered by introducing NOX to promote intracellular NAD + regeneration (Scheme ). These cofactor-engineered cells (E. coli_ Ct VDH1_NOX and E.…”