Biomanufacturing Biobased Organic Amines from Biomass-Derived Aldehydes Through the Amination with Transaminase
Junhua Di1,2, Yuyang Hu3, Yucai He1,3
1School of Pharmacy & School of Biological and Food Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
Abstract:
Lignocellulose, as the most abundant renewable biomass, offers a sustainable source of valuable chemicals. This study explores the biosynthesis of vanillylamine, a versatile lignin derivative used in producing furans, food additives, and pharmaceuticals, from biobased aldehydes under mild conditions. A transaminase (3FCR-3M) from Ruegeria sp. TM1040 was expressed in E. coli and applied in ethylene glycol-water medium (ethylene glycol, 20 vol%). Under optimized conditions (35 °C, pH 7.5), using L-alanine (L-Ala:vanillin = 5:1, mol:mol) as the amine donor, the whole-cell biocatalyst effectively converted various aromatic and furan aldehydes (50 mM), including vanillin, isovanillin, anisaldehyde, furfural, and HMF, into corresponding amines. Yields ranged from 52.8% to 98.4%. This work demonstrates a green and efficient bioamination strategy for producing vanillylamine and its derivatives from renewable biomass.
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