Bioactive Pickering emulsions for sustainable oxyfunctionalization

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Functionalization with oxygen is a key operation in various organic chemical syntheses. With regard to environmental protection and sustainability, replacing the currently used highly toxic oxidizing agents such as chromates by hydrogen peroxide or molecular oxygen is highly desired. A variety of enzymes such as lipases and per- and monooxygenases catalyze these reactions under mild and selective conditions. However, due to the lack of an appropriate technology, that synchronizes both the specific features of oxyfunctionalization reactions and the specific properties of biocatalysts, bio-based oxyfunctionalization has hardly been adopted for synthesis yet. Based on the knowledge gained from previous joint projects, we here propose that bioactive Pickering emulsions (BioPEs) in a continuous membrane reactor could be a viable basis for such a technology. We suppose that both the formulation of the biocatalyst or its placement at the liquid-liquid interface, respectively, and the physical properties of the BioPE can be optimized to increase synthetic performance. Thus, this project systematically investigates the employment of BioPE in a continuous membrane reactor for the sustainable biocatalyzed oxyfunctionalization of organic compounds with differently complex biocatalysts (lipases, per- and monooxygenases), taking into account specific features of the catalytic systems, the reaction technology and their interplay. It addresses the fundamental question if, or possibly which biocatalyzed oxyfunctionalization benefits from implementation into Pickering emulsions, and will identify and optimize key parameters (e.g. drop size, interfacial area, biocatalyst load and location, substrate supply, phase composition) that determine the catalytic performance of the reaction system. The interdisciplinary approach with partners from biotechnology and engineering enables in-depth understanding of the enzymatic and physico-chemical processes within. We also expect that by knowledge gain on the influence of emulsion properties and composition a mathematical model can be developed to describe the reaction kinetics in BioPE and help finding the optimal technological conditions for efficient oxyfunctionalization. The project outcome can fundamentally contribute to make biocatalyzed oxyfunctionalization accessible for biochemical processes.