Enhancing cofactor regeneration of cyanobacteria for the light-powered synthesis of chiral alcohols
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Updated: Oct 12, 2025

Operation of Laboratory Photobioreactors with Online Growth Measurements and Customizable Light Regimes
Published on: October 28, 2021
Jianhua Fan1, Yinghui Zhang1, Ping Wu1
1State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, PR China; Department of Applied Biology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, PR China.
Abstract:
Cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was exploited as green cell factory for light-powered asymmetric synthesis of aromatic chiral alcohols. The effect of temperature, light, substrate and cell concentration on substrate conversions were investigated. Under the optimal condition, a series of chiral alcohols were synthesized with conversions up to 95% and enantiomer excess (ee) > 99%. We found that the addition of Na2S2O3 and Angeli's Salt increased the NADPH content by 20% and 25%, respectively. As a result, the time to reach 95% substrate conversion was shortened by 12 h, which demonstrated that the NADPH regeneration and hence the reaction rates can be regulated in cyanobacteria. This blue-green algae based biocatalysis showed its potential for chiral compounds production in future.
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