title: Chiral compounds from bacterial polyesters: sugars to plastics to fine chemicals.
abstract: A novel and efficient method for the production of enantiomerically pure (R)-(-)-hydroxycarboxylic acids by in vivo depolymerization of microbial polyester polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) was developed. Using this method, several model compounds, (R)-(-)-3-hydroxyalkanoic acids, consisting of 4 to 12 carbon atoms, and (R)-(-)-3-hydroxy-5-phenylvaleric acid, could be prepared. In particular, (R)-(-)-3-hydroxybutyric acid could be efficiently prepared by this method. By providing the environmental condition in which cells possess high activity of intracellular PHA depolymerase and low activity of (R)-(-)-3-hydroxybutyric acid dehydrogenase, (R)-(-)-3-hydroxybutyric acid could be produced with a yield of 96% in only 30 min by in vivo depolymerization of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) accumulated in Alcaligenes latus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and BioProcess Engineering Research Center, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 373-1 Kusong-dong, Yusong-gu, Taejon 305-701, Korea.
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry*; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D010969:Plastics / Q000737:chemistry*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D010969:Plastics; D011091:Polyesters