Free and immobilized Citrobacter amalonaticus. Comparative properties and applications as a biocatalyst for nucleoside synthesis

JORGE TRELLES; ELIZABETH LEWKOWICZ; JOSE VICENTE SINISTERRA; ADOLFO IRIBARREN

Varadero, Cuba

Simposio; RELATENZ 2003; 2003

Universidad de Matanzas, Cuba

Microbial transglycosylation has been successfully applied to the synthesis of modified nucleosides. These compounds are of interest, from a pharmaceutical point of view, due to their applications as antiviral and antitumor agents. Nucleoside phosphorylases afford, with complete stereocontrol and high specificity, purine nucleosides from the corresponding pyrimidine ones in a one pot reaction procedure. Very few articles have been reported so far regarding the use of immobilized whole cells as biocatalysts of this transglycosylation reaction. In the present work, we analyze the use of Citrobacter amalonaticus, the choice of the best support for cell immobilization and the application of this biocatalyst to the synthesis of several modified nucleosides.