OXYTRAIN — Harnessing the power of enzymatic oxygen activation

Results in brief

Harnessing the power of enzymatic oxygen activation

Many molecules important to our daily lives are obtained through oxidation reactions. These reactions are industrially important but are performed in a chemical manner at a high temperature, involving toxic organic solvents and expensive metal catalysts. It is therefore desirable that these reactions are replaced by “greener” variants, thereby fulfilling the need for environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives. For example, oxygenases have emerged as promising tools for a number of industrial oxidative processes owing to their chemical versatility. The catalytic use of enzymes in chemical conversions is known as biocatalysis. Oxygenases are a group of enzymes that carry out the regio-, stereo- and chemoselective introduction of oxygen into a large range of organic molecules under mild conditions. The industrial use of oxygenases is still lagging behind, despite their staggering potential in chemical transformations. This is mainly due to a relatively poor availability of industrially suitable biocatalysts and methodology to apply these enzymes. To exploit the catalytic power of oxygenases, the Oxytrain network was established, which was aimed at improving the knowledge on oxygenases and their use in industrial applications. This required well-trained researchers from different backgrounds as well as new tools and approaches for the generation of industrially applicable oxygenases. The Oxytrain network comprised: different leading academic institutions, various companies, that included key players in textile industry, enzyme production, application, and evaluation and preparation of enzyme mutant libraries as well as partner organizations with expertise in enzyme production and monooxygenase-based applications, biorefining of lignocellulose, enzyme evaluation in industrial conditions, industrial microbes and bioprocesses and chemical synthesis and analysis.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

For the selective and effective incorporation of oxygen into biological molecules (oxygenation reaction), several enzyme types have evolved in nature. They catalyse crucial reactions in various metabolic routes. The chemistry feasible with these biocatalysts is unrivalled when compared with conventional chemical methods. Therefore, these oxygenating enzymes are very promising tools in biotechnological approaches. However, when compared with other enzyme classes, such as hydrolases, oxygenases are still in their infancy considering their biotechnological potential. To fully exploit the catalytic power of oxygenases, several hurdles have to be taken for which a higher level of knowledge on these enzymes is needed while also technical aspects have to be solved.The European Training Network (ETN) OXYTRAIN is a joint academic/non-academic training initiative supporting the convergence of biochemistry, enzyme engineering and biotechnology. The consortium's mutual goal is developing a new generation of innovative and entrepreneurial early stage researchers (ESRs) to satisfy the need for knowledge and skills to produce and apply oxidative enzymes. This will be achieved by setting up a network and intersectoral programme in which multiple disciplines will be integrated and exploited. By bringing together 7 academic beneficiaries that are experts in the field of individual oxygenase groups, the network will provide perfect conditions for cross-fertilization of knowledge, while the 3 industrial beneficiaries and 5 partner organisations will add to the consortium by translating the generated knowledge into real industrial applications, such as textiles, pharmaceuticals and biorefineries.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN · GroningenCoordinatorNetherlands
BORREGAARD AS · SarpsborgNorway
DSM FOOD SPECIALTIES BV · DelftNetherlands
DSM MATERIALS SCIENCE CENTER BV · GeleenNetherlands
INGENZA LIMITED · RoslinUnited Kingdom
NORGES MILJO-OG BIOVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET · AsNorway
RHEINISCH-WESTFAELISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE AACHEN · AachenGermany
SANKO TEKSTIL ISLETMELERI SANAYI VETICARET ANONIM SIRKETI · BursaTürkiye
SESAM-BIOTECH GMBH · AACHENGermany
SYNCOM BV · GroningenNetherlands
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET GRAZ · GrazAustria
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA · PaviaItaly
UNIVERSITAET MUENSTER · MuensterGermany
UNIVERSITY OF YORK · YORK NORTH YORKSHIREUnited Kingdom
bisy e.U.Austria

OXYTRAIN · Harnessing the power of enzymatic oxygen activation

Results in brief

Harnessing the power of enzymatic oxygen activation

Project objective

Participants

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