Using Spinchem® RBR Technology for Immobilized Enzymatic Reactions: A Case Study

The practically and financially viable use of immobilized enzymes in the production of pharmaceutical and bulk chemicals requires highly catalytically active enzymes and efficient mass transfer of substrate to the active site. The substantial cost of immobilized enzymes further mandates extended reuse of the enzymes to keep operating expenditures down. The extent of reuse of immobilized enzymes depends on parameters such as enzyme long-term stability under process conditions, carrier integrity and attrition due to mechanical stress, and ease of workup and recovery on scale. Herein, we report on the use of a SpinChem rotating bed reactor (RBR) for the Novozyme 435 mediated kinetic resolution of (cis)-isopropyl 3-aminocyclohexanecarboxylate as an alternative to the traditional reaction using free-flowing immobilized lipases in an ordinary batch reactor. Reusability was studied in addition to other parameters such as type of immobilized enzyme, loading, rate of agitation, temperature, and scalability. By usi...