Essay Sample on Chemo-enzymatic Biotransformation

Living organisms are the most efficient chemical factories known. The chemo-enzymatic reactions involve chemical reactions that are multi-step in nature whereby the chemical, as well as the bio-catalytic reaction steps, are coupled to form another molecule. The living cell has, therefore, been considered to be a complete factory of chemicals whose organizational principles can inspire chemical engineers as well as organic chemists (Yuryev, 2011). Within the applied bio-catalysis field, most of chemists have been trying to ensure recognition of the principles behind the cell's efficiency of metabolism as well as exploiting them in the synthesis of organic molecules. In the classification of the existing biotransformation in chemical reactions, there are three biological principles that are regarded as significant.

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The first of the principles is that a given metabolic pathway's single reaction step proceeds in a certain manner as a result of the high region-, chemo- as well as the stereo-selectivity of the enzyme which are involved in the catalysis of the given step. Therefore, the principle has been incorporated as the soul of the applied bio-catalysis (Yuryev, 2011). Also, it has been exploited in the chemical industries, especially for the chemical production by enzymatic processes. Therefore the biotransformation is mainly based on the principle that is the systems involving single-reaction-single enzyme can be under the classification of the first generation enzymatic processes. The second principle entails that cell metabolism incorporates a continuous process. The numerous chain of processes in chemo-catalysis implemented on the industrial scales as well as on the laboratories proves that the principle can be applied in the technical systems(Faber, 2005). Therefore the biotransformation, including both of the principles stated above, can be referred to as the systems of "single-reaction-single-enzyme continuous-flow" and are under the classification of the enzymatic processes in the second generation (Faber, 2005).

The other biological principle states that metabolism within a cell is a series of complex reactions that are coupled via common products as well as the substrates. The syntheses of the metabolites in a multistep are done within the reactions in a sequential manner where the reactions are catalyzed under the spatial aligned enzymatic complexes (Faber, 2005). In contrast, the other parallel reactions are employed in the regeneration of expensive co-factors. Therefore the biotransformation, which consists of the coupled sequential reactions which are catalyzed by enzymes, may be referred to as the third generation enzymatic processes. The chemo-enzymatic reaction is also a multistep sequence of chemical reaction where the bio-catalytic and chemical reaction steps are coupled as the biotransformation of the third-generation. Hence the reactions such as amylase-catalyzed hydrolysis of amylose to glucose or the lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of triglycerides to glycerol and fatty acids should also fall under the classification of processes of a multi-step reaction since they have an intermediate sequential chemical reaction.

Comparison of Chemical Synthesis and Chemo-Enzymatic Synthesis

First, chemical synthesis entails the construction of complex chemical compounds from simpler ones. It is through this process where many substances that are essential to daily life are obtained. Therefore it applies to all types of chemical compounds. However, most of the syntheses, in this case, are mainly inclined to the organic molecules. Usually, the chemical compounds occurring in nature are synthesized by Chemists to gain knowledge as well as the understanding of their structures. The synthesis hence helps the chemists in the production of the compounds that do not form naturally for research. Atoms are the building blocks for the chemical compounds and are joined together by chemical bonds.

Therefore, chemical synthesis entails typically the breaking of the existing chemical bonds as well as the formation of the new ones. The complex molecule synthesis may include a certain number of individual reactions resulting in the sequence of the available starting materials to the end product, which is required. The reactions involved in chemical synthesis mainly involves at least two of the different substances. Some of the molecules will change into other molecules by means of heating effect (Gadler, 2007). Besides, the rate of the chemical reaction is directly proportional to temperature; hence, the chemical synthesis is usually done at high temperatures. The advantage of this chemical synthesis is that it applies to all types of chemical compounds and also helps the chemists in the production of the compounds that do not form naturally for research. The only disadvantage with this is that more synthetic work is required in the synthesis during substrate preparation. Also, it may be more challenging to control the product's stereochemistry and region- where the changes in the chemical structure occur in a single reaction.

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis, on the other hand, combines the methods of chemical synthesis as well as the efficiency of the enzymatic reactions to obtain a diverse, complex compound. They are essential in the field of applied catalysis. In such a multi-step reaction, bio-catalytic reactions are combined with other transformations giving efficient tools in the preparative materials chemistry as well as organic synthesis. In chemo-enzymatic synthesis, the bio-catalytic step can be regarded as an asymmetric reaction that allows for the formation of the new chemical bonds, which is an essential challenge in the strategic enantiopure building blocks for the pharmaceutical industry.

There are several advantages and disadvantages of chemo-enzymatic synthesis. First, the enzymes in these can be disregarded in the environments since the reactions are environmentally benign. There are also minimal side-reactions, e.g., isomerization, racemization, and decomposition, because most of the enzymes mainly function under biological or mild conditions. Besides, the chemo-enzymatic synthesis enzymes can be immobilized on a solid support. They hence demonstrate higher stability and can be used in conducting reactions in a continuous mode in micro-reactors. The main disadvantage of this method is that the conditions of the reactions may be unfavorable to the activity of the enzymes. This can lead to inefficiency in the synthesis of the biological enzymes.

Importance of Carbazole Molecules

The carbazole molecules entail an aromatic compound that is polycyclic and consists of six benzene rings, which are fused on either side of a nitrogen-containing ring, which is five-membered. The molecule is mainly used in the production of pigment violet 23. Also, the carbazole molecule's chemistry, as well as that of its derivatives, including the polymers, have attracted a lot of attention in the optoelectronics field. Regardless of its form, the understanding and knowledge of its electronic properties, as well as its oxidation mechanisms together with subsequent reactions, are mainly essential to its daily life application. Therefore the knowledge of this molecule is important in the design of useful carbazole-based polymeric materials with required properties (Johnson, 2012). Some of the example of the carbazole derivative compounds include: 9-isopropyl-9H-carbazol-4-ol, 7-isopropyl-3-phenyl-2,3,4,7-tetrahydro[1,3]oxazino[5,6-c]carbazole, 3-{[(2Chlorobenzyl)methylamino]methyl}-9-isopropyl-9H-carbazol-4-ol among other derivatives. The molecule of carbazole is readily oxidized. However, it may form other various products depending on the conditions of the reaction.

References

Yuryev, R., Strompen, S., & Liese, A. (2011). Coupled chemo (enzymatic) reactions in continuous flow. Beilstein journal of organic chemistry, 7(1), 1449-1467.

Faber, K., & Kroutil, W. (2005). New enzymes for biotransformations. Current opinion in chemical biology, 9(2), 181-187.

Gadler, P., & Faber, K. (2007). New enzymes for biotransformations: microbial alkyl sulfatases displaying stereo-and enantioselectivity. Trends in biotechnology, 25(2), 83-88.

McKee, T., & McKee, J. R. (1999). Biochemistry: an introduction. WCB/McGraw-Hill.

Johnson, G. E. (2012). Intramolecular excimer formation in carbazole double molecules. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 61(8), 3002-3008.

Karon, K., & Lapkowski, M. (2015). Carbazole electrochemistry: a short review. Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry, 19(9), 2601-2610.