关键词: 酶, 酶催化, 维生素, 维生素衍生物, 脂肪酶

Abstract:

Enzymes, as a kind of natural catalysts, often have unique and excellent catalytic performance compared with chemical catalysts. The mining, modification and application of enzymes have always been a key research field of bioengineering. With the development of enzymes mining and modification technology, enzymatic catalysis has been widely used in industry. In the production of vitamins, vitamin C and vitamin B₁₂ have been produced by fermentation with a long history, and vitamin B₂ has also been produced by fermentation instead of chemical synthesis since the beginning of this century. In addition to the above vitamins, other vitamins are mainly synthesized by chemical routes. In the chemical process of vitamin synthesis, more and more cases of enzymatic catalysis to replace chemical catalysis have been explored for semi-chemo-based production. For examples: Biological enzymatic resolution instead of chemical chiral resolution in vitamin B₅ synthesis; Nitrile hydration catalyzed by nitrile hydratase instead of chemical catalyst in the synthesis of vitamin B₃; The synthesis of active vitamin D₃ [such as 25(OH) vitamin D₃] by P450 enzyme. Furthermore, many vitamin esters or glycoside derivatives are synthesized by lipases or glycosyltransferases. In this article, industrial applications of enzymes in this regard are reviewed, including screening, directed evolution and rational modification of the enzymes. Moreover, the applications of enzymatic catalysis in the synthesis of vitamins are summarized, including vitamin B₃, vitamin B₅ and vitamin D₃. The production of vitamin C is also highlighted because its fermentation process is similar to enzymatic catalysis. We also summarize the synthesis of several vitamin derivatives, mainly including ester derivatives of vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E, which are synthesized by lipases, and glycoside derivatives of vitamin C, which are synthesized by glycosyltransferases. Finally, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of chemical synthesis, fermentation and enzymatic catalysis in the production of vitamins. The characteristics and application potential of enzymatic catalysis are summarized. With the in-depth understanding of enzymatic catalysis mechanism, enzymes will play their unique advantages in the synthesis of vitamins and other natural products through integration of chemical engineering, computer aided design and other interdisciplinary knowledges.

Key words: enzymes, enzymatic catalytic, vitamins, vitamin derivatives, lipases