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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

HKUST-1 as a Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Synthesis of Vanillin
Published on: July 23, 2016
Biocatalytic synthesis of vanillin
1Division of Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry, and Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA.
Abstract:
The conversions of vanillic acid and O-benzylvanillic acid to vanillin were examined by using whole cells and enzyme preparations of Nocardia sp. strain NRRL 5646. With growing cultures, vanillic acid was decarboxylated (69% yield) to guaiacol and reduced (11% yield) to vanillyl alcohol. In resting Nocardia cells in buffer, 4-O-benzylvanillic acid was converted to the corresponding alcohol product without decarboxylation. Purified Nocardia carboxylic acid reductase, an ATP and NADPH-dependent enzyme, quantitatively reduced vanillic acid to vanillin. Structures of metabolites were established by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectral analyses.
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