Biocatalysis and Biotransformations

When it comes to the use of biocatalysis for the synthesis of chiral fine chemicals, DSM is the world leader with a strong technology position. This is the result of effectively merging the technology developed at the sites in Venlo, Geleen and Linz with the rich history in enzyme production technology developed in Delft. Over 25 products, synthesized using one or more biocatalytic steps, have already been commercialized at DSM at a multi-ton scale.

Efficient integration of the competence Biocatalysis & Biotransformations with our chemical synthetic and process development activities, further strengthens DSM's position in the application of biological tools in catalysis. In order to reduce process development time and to improve process performance, R&D is concentrated on the speed of enzyme discovery using high throughput screening and experimentation, and on developing processes, which yield enantiomerically pure compounds.

DSM's capabilities to rapidly identify new enzymes for application in organic synthesis, and our expertise in genetic modification and fermentation, are key success factors for the rapid and successful large-scale implementation of new biocatalytic processes.

Examples of processes:

• Aspartame
• Cephalexin
• Pyrethroids
• Optically Active Alcohols
• Unnatural Amino Acids
• (S)-tert-Leucine

Parts of the fundamental research on new enzymes are performed in collaboration with the "Competence center for applied biocatalysis" in Graz, Austria.
www.Applied-Biocat.at