An Update: Enzymatic Synthesis for Industrial Applications

Area of Science:

• Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering
• Sustainable Chemistry
• Industrial Biotechnology

Background:

• Chemical catalysis faces limitations in sustainability, scalability, and cost-competitiveness.
• Technological advancements have propelled biocatalysis as a viable alternative.
• Enzymes offer precise control for complex molecule synthesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent enzyme-based manufacturing of complex molecules at commercial scale.
• To highlight novel enzyme classes and their industrial applications.
• To showcase the diversification and broader utilization of biocatalysis.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent literature on industrial biocatalysis.
• Identification of enzyme-based solutions for manufacturing specific molecule classes.
• Analysis of emerging enzyme classes and their potential applications.

Main Results:

• Successful commercial-scale enzyme applications for peptide building blocks, rare sugars, synthetic oligonucleotides, and terpenoids (e.g., (-)-Ambrox®).
• Identification of novel enzymes for DNA/RNA synthesis, plastic depolymerization, and enzymatic protection/deprotection schemes.
• Demonstration of biocatalysis as a sustainable, scalable, and cost-competitive approach.

Conclusions:

• Biocatalysis is a mature technology for industrial-scale synthesis of complex molecules.
• Novel enzymes are expanding the scope of biocatalysis into new areas like plastic recycling and advanced synthesis.
• The trend points toward increased diversification and industrial adoption of biocatalysis-based processes.