title: Enatiomerically pure hydroxycarboxylic acids: current  approaches and future perspectives.
abstract: The growing awareness of the importance of chirality in conjunction with biological activity has led to an increasing demand for efficient methods for the industrial synthesis of enantiomerically pure compounds. Polyhydroxyalkanotes (PHAs) are a family of polyesters consisting of over 140 chiral R-hydroxycarboxylic acids (R-HAs), representing a promising source for obtaining chiral chemicals from renewable carbon sources. Although some R-HAs have been produced for some time and certain knowledge of the production processes has been gained, large-scale production has not yet been possible. In this article, through analysis of the current advances in production of these acids, we present guidelines for future developments in biotechnological processes for R-HA production.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa), Laboratory for Biomaterials, 9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland. qun.ren@empa.ch
authors.forename: Qun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Katinka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ruth
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thöny-Meyer
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zinn
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D011091:Polyesters / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D011091:Polyesters
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