Whole cell biocatalysts for the preparation of nucleosides and their derivatives

LEWKOWICZ, ELIZABETH S.; IRIBARREN, ADOLFO M.

CURRENT PHARMACEUTICAL DESIGN.

BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBL LTD

Año: 2017 vol. 23 p. 6851 - 6878

1381-6128

Nucleosides constitute an extensive group of natural and chemically modified compounds that display a wide range of structures and activities. Different biocatalysts have been developed for their preparation, including soluble and immobilized enzymes or whole cells microorganisms containing the required enzymatic system. Since the choice of commercially available enzymes is limited, the search of new biocatalysts is particularly attractive. In this sense microorganisms are a vast source of enzymatic diversity. Moreover, the direct use of microbial whole cells as biocatalysts is advantageous since it avoids the cumbersome procedures involved in enzyme isolation and facilitates multienzymatic processes. These biocatalysts also maintain the enzymes in their natural environment, protecting their activities from reaction conditions. For these reasons, whole cell biocatalysts provide a potential cheaper and suitable route for industrial applications. Therefore, this work focuses on the whole cell biocatalyzed preparation of nucleosides analogues and their derivatives, making particular emphasis in the following topics: the biocatalyzed whole cell synthesis of nucleosides mediated by phosphorylases, key biocatalyzed steps involved in other chemoenzymatic routes to prepare nucleoside analogues and the transformation of nucleosides in derivatives with particular properties.