Efficient biocatalytic hydrolysis of 2-chloronicotinamide for production of 2-chloronicotinic acid by recombinant amidase

• A recombinant amidase was first successfully applied to the synthesis of 2-chloronicotinic acid.
• Catalytic properties of recombinant amidase synthesizing 2-chloronicotinic acid were studied.
• The recombinant amidase exhibited high activity and strong substrate concentration tolerant.

For efficient production of 2-chloronicotinic acid from 2-chloronicotinamide, an amidase gene was synthesized by codon-optimized and expressed. The optimum pH and temperature for the biocatalytic process were 7.5 and 45–50 °C, respectively. The recombinant E. coli whole cells exhibited tolerance against a high substrate concentration of up to 180 mM. It could also be repeatedly used in the biotransformation and the residual activity after 10 batches was still over 50% of the initial activity. These results indicated this recombinant amidase is of great potential for the practical production of 2-chloronicotinic acid.

In this study, a recombinant amidase from R. erythropolis was first successfully applied to the synthesis of 2-chloronicotinic acid under the mild conditions. The recombinant amidase exhibited stable, high activity and strong substrate concentration tolerant.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide