Novel oleate hydratases and potential biotechnological applications

Oleate hydratase catalyses the addition of water to the CC double bond of oleic acid to produce (R)-10-hydroxystearic acid. The enzyme requires an FAD cofactor that functions to optimise the active site structure. A wide range of unsaturated fatty acids can be hydrated at the C10 and in some cases the C13 position. The substrate scope can be...

Nuclear Waste and Biocatalysis: A Sustainable Liaison?

It is well-known that energy-rich radiation induces water splitting, eventually yielding hydrogen peroxide. Synthetic applications, however, are scarce and to the best of our knowledge, the combination of radioactivity with enzyme-catalysis has not been considered yet. Peroxygenases utilize H2O2 as an oxidant to promote highly selective...

Photobiocatalytic synthesis of chiral secondary fatty alcohols from renewable unsaturated fatty acids

En route to a bio-based chemical industry, the conversion of fatty acids into building blocks is of particular interest. Enzymatic routes, occurring under mild conditions and excelling by intrinsic selectivity, are particularly attractive. Here we report photoenzymatic cascade reactions to transform unsaturated fatty acids into...

'Clean' hydrolase reactions using commercial washing powder

We report the use of commercial laundry powder as a biocatalyst for a range of lipase-catalysed reactions including (trans)esterification, ester hydrolysis and chemoenzymatic epoxidation reactions. The enzymatic laundry powder exhibited excellent stability and recyclability, making it a readily available and cheap biocatalyst for chemical...