Biocatalysis in novel functionalized ionic liquids

I&EC 114

Francesco Falcioni, ff500@york.ac.uk1, Adam J Walker, adam.walker@bioniqs.com2, and Neil C Bruce1. (1) CNAP, Department of Biology, University of York, Area 8. PO BOX 373, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom, (2) Bioniqs, Biocentre, York Science Park, York, YO10 5DG, United Kingdom
Ionic liquids used as biocatalytic solvents can overcome the limitations imposed by water by dissolving higher concentrations of organic substrates, whilst offering major advantages in replacing molecular solvents, owing to their compatibility with high-order biomolecular structures, negligible vapour pressure, non-flammability, stability and recyclability. The majority of ionic liquids studied so far belong to the dialkylimidazolium group and suffer from high viscosity, difficult product recovery, significant toxicity and unproven biodegradability. Rational functionalisation of ionic liquids can improve their performance: a range of novel ionic liquids based upon functionalised alkanolammonium nuclei offer significant improvements over imidazolium salts and their analogues, . This project aims to address their application as alternative media for biocatalysis using purified hydrolases. A comparative study of activity and conformation through complementary techniques will clarify the nature of the interactions between protein and ionic liquids and identify the parameters directing the choice of the best ionic liquid for a given biocatalytic reaction.