Segmented flow processes as an efficient tool to overcome hurdles of whole-cell biocatalysis in organic solvents

Gröger H, Adenbar N, Nastke A, Löwe J. Segmented flow processes as an efficient tool to overcome hurdles of whole-cell biocatalysis in organic solvents. Angewandte Chemie International Edition . 2021;60(29):15863-15869. ; In modern process development, it is imperative to consider biocatalysis, and whole-cell catalysts often represent a favored form of such catalysts. However, the application of whole-cell catalysis in typical organic batch two-phase synthesis often struggles due to mass transfer limitations, emulsion formation, tedious work-up and, thus, low yields. Herein, we demonstrate that utilizing segmented flow tools enables the conduction of whole-cell biocatalysis efficiently in biphasic media. Exemplified for three different biotransformations, the power of such segmented flow processes is shown. For example, a 3-fold increase of conversion from 34% to >99% and a dramatic simplified work-up leading to a 1.5-fold higher yield from 44% to 65% compared to the analogous batch process was achieved in such a flow process. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.