Enhanced 2-phenylethanol production from L-phenylalanine via in situ product adsorption

Abstract

Biotransformation of L-phenylalanine (L-Phe) to 2-phenylethanol (2-PE) was limited by product cytotoxicity. In order to improve 2-PE production, a biotransformation strategy applying in situ product adsorption was investigated. Resin HZ818 was chosen from several macroporous adsorbent resins, which adsorbed the most 2-PE and the least L-Phe. When 7% (dry w/v) resin HZ818 was added to the biotransformation system, 6.6 g l⁻¹ 2-PE was obtained from 12 g l⁻¹ L-Phe, with a molar yield of 74.4%. Compared to the biotransformation without addition of adsorbent resin, the product concentration was improved by 66.2%. Adsorption of the produced 2-PE onto the resin facilitated product recovery and made the process more feasible for industrial application.

Keywords::

• 2-phenylethanol
• L-phenylalanine
• biotransformation
• product cytotoxicity
• in situ product adsorption
• adsorbent resin

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledged the financial support from Shanghai Apple Flavor & Fragrance Co., Ltd (China).

Declaration of interest: The work was supported by the grant from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (no.20090450705). The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.