COMBI-CLEA FOR REACTIONS IN CONTINUOUS FLOW SUPERCRITICAL CO2

摘要

The production of pharmaceuticals in a 'green' way is a concern in the recent years. In this work, we have examined an oxidation reaction in a continuous flow supercritical CO2 system using individual CLEA (Cross Linked Enzyme Aggregate) of cholesterol oxidase and combi-CLEA of cholesterol oxidase and catalase. Besides the activity studies, the research was aimed to be extended to kinetic studies and modelling of the system to optimise the flow of H2O2 between the two enzymes and the production of cholestenone. The reaction examined is the oxidation of cholesterol (Scheme 1). Cholesterol oxidase (chox) catalyses the oxidation of cholesterol using O2 to 4-cholesen-3-one, a precursor of interest in the pharmaceutical industry. H2O2 is produced as by-product which can be reduced to water and oxygen using the enzyme catalase. The elimination of H2O2 is important as it can inhibit the first reaction.