Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e202501755 |
| Journal | CHEMSUSCHEM |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 24 |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Dec 2025 |
Abstract
The synthesis of biogenic hydroxy styrenes by enzymatic decarboxylation of phenolic acids (e.g., ferulic, p-coumaric, caffeic, or sinapic acids) is a promising route involving biorefineries and biocatalysis, in which the low substrate solubility in water requires the quest for nonconventional media. This work explores the tunability of deep eutectic solvents (DES) to simultaneously create enzyme-compatible and solubilizing systems, in which thermostable phenolic acid decarboxylases (PAD) may operate at 50–70 °C, decreasing the inherent DES viscosity. Four DESs displaying high solubility of ferulic acid are assessed (with additions of up to 20 vol% of phosphate buffer): Choline chloride–glycerol (ChCl–Gly, 1:2), choline chloride–ethylene glycol (ChCl–EG, 1:2), choline acetate–glycerol (ChAc–Gly, 1:2), and betaine–glycerol (Bet–Gly, 1:2). Bet–Gly DES exerts promising properties, being a halide-free solvent, an enzyme-stabilizer at 50–70 °C (1.4 higher melting temperatures for the N31 ancestor Bacillus subtilis PAD), and 14-fold higher ferulic acid solubility compared to buffer. Intensified conditions of up to 1 M ferulic acid (≈200 g L −1, in a slurry-like system) in Bet-Gly (1:2, 20 vol% buffer) lead to excellent conversions (90%) in less than 5 h, demonstrating that biocatalysis can be performed under industrially relevant conditions when DES media are tuned for the specific requirements of the application.
Keywords
- deep eutectic solvents, kinetics, phenolic acid decarboxylases, process intensification, thermostability
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering(all)
- General Chemical Engineering
- Materials Science(all)
- General Materials Science
- Energy(all)
- General Energy
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In: CHEMSUSCHEM, Vol. 18, No. 24, e202501755, 15.12.2025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Molar‐Scale Phenolic Acid Decarboxylation Using Thermostable Biocatalysts and Enzyme‐Compatible Deep Eutectic Solvents
AU - Vaupel, Sonja
AU - Meyer, Lars‐Erik
AU - de María, Pablo Domínguez
AU - Kara, Selin
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). ChemSusChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.
PY - 2025/12/15
Y1 - 2025/12/15
N2 - The synthesis of biogenic hydroxy styrenes by enzymatic decarboxylation of phenolic acids (e.g., ferulic, p-coumaric, caffeic, or sinapic acids) is a promising route involving biorefineries and biocatalysis, in which the low substrate solubility in water requires the quest for nonconventional media. This work explores the tunability of deep eutectic solvents (DES) to simultaneously create enzyme-compatible and solubilizing systems, in which thermostable phenolic acid decarboxylases (PAD) may operate at 50–70 °C, decreasing the inherent DES viscosity. Four DESs displaying high solubility of ferulic acid are assessed (with additions of up to 20 vol% of phosphate buffer): Choline chloride–glycerol (ChCl–Gly, 1:2), choline chloride–ethylene glycol (ChCl–EG, 1:2), choline acetate–glycerol (ChAc–Gly, 1:2), and betaine–glycerol (Bet–Gly, 1:2). Bet–Gly DES exerts promising properties, being a halide-free solvent, an enzyme-stabilizer at 50–70 °C (1.4 higher melting temperatures for the N31 ancestor Bacillus subtilis PAD), and 14-fold higher ferulic acid solubility compared to buffer. Intensified conditions of up to 1 M ferulic acid (≈200 g L −1, in a slurry-like system) in Bet-Gly (1:2, 20 vol% buffer) lead to excellent conversions (90%) in less than 5 h, demonstrating that biocatalysis can be performed under industrially relevant conditions when DES media are tuned for the specific requirements of the application.
AB - The synthesis of biogenic hydroxy styrenes by enzymatic decarboxylation of phenolic acids (e.g., ferulic, p-coumaric, caffeic, or sinapic acids) is a promising route involving biorefineries and biocatalysis, in which the low substrate solubility in water requires the quest for nonconventional media. This work explores the tunability of deep eutectic solvents (DES) to simultaneously create enzyme-compatible and solubilizing systems, in which thermostable phenolic acid decarboxylases (PAD) may operate at 50–70 °C, decreasing the inherent DES viscosity. Four DESs displaying high solubility of ferulic acid are assessed (with additions of up to 20 vol% of phosphate buffer): Choline chloride–glycerol (ChCl–Gly, 1:2), choline chloride–ethylene glycol (ChCl–EG, 1:2), choline acetate–glycerol (ChAc–Gly, 1:2), and betaine–glycerol (Bet–Gly, 1:2). Bet–Gly DES exerts promising properties, being a halide-free solvent, an enzyme-stabilizer at 50–70 °C (1.4 higher melting temperatures for the N31 ancestor Bacillus subtilis PAD), and 14-fold higher ferulic acid solubility compared to buffer. Intensified conditions of up to 1 M ferulic acid (≈200 g L −1, in a slurry-like system) in Bet-Gly (1:2, 20 vol% buffer) lead to excellent conversions (90%) in less than 5 h, demonstrating that biocatalysis can be performed under industrially relevant conditions when DES media are tuned for the specific requirements of the application.
KW - deep eutectic solvents
KW - kinetics
KW - phenolic acid decarboxylases
KW - process intensification
KW - thermostability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105021243497&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/cssc.202501755
DO - 10.1002/cssc.202501755
M3 - Article
VL - 18
JO - CHEMSUSCHEM
JF - CHEMSUSCHEM
SN - 1864-5631
IS - 24
M1 - e202501755
ER -