Nucleosides synthesis by immobilized microorganisms

JORGE A.TRELLES, LETICIA BENTANCOR, VALERIA RUNZA, ELIZABETH S. LEWKOWICZ, JOSE VICENTE SINISTERRA AND ADOLFO M. IRIBARREN

madrid

Congreso; 10 º Congreso Europeo de Biotecnología; 2001

Sociedad europea de biotecnología

Nucleoside analogues are of particular interest for pharmaceutical industries due to their activity in the treatment of viral diseases and cancer. Traditionally, nucleosides have been prepared by chemical methods which involve multistage synthesis, protection and deprotection steps and glycosyl activation. Enzymatic and microbial preparations of both natural and unnatural nucleosides have been reported as an alternative procedure with high efficiency. However, a few papers have been issued using immobilized whole cells. Around 100 bacteria strains representing several genera were tested based on their ability to produce adenosine, deoxyadenosine and thymidine, starting from uridine, deoxyuridine and deoxyinosine respectively. Three strains were selected for each biotransformation and experimental conditions such as temperature, amount of biocatalyst and reaction time were optimized. With the final goal of developing an appropriate industrial procedure, the immobilization of the chosen strains on different matrix is being carried out. A comparative analysis of nucleoside synthesis ability between free and immobilized cells will be also assessed.