A facile whole-cell biocatalytic approach to regioselective synthesis of monoacylated 1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine: Influence of organic solvents

► The catalytic performance of the whole-cell biocatalyst can be tailored by a solvent engineering strategy. ► The cells showed an evident solvent dependence in the acylation of ara-C. ► The whole cell biocatalyst had moderate thermal and operational stabilities in organic solvents tested. ► The bacterial cells exhibited high 5′-regioselectivity (>97%), which was similar as the tested expensive immobilized lipase.