Rapid conversion of cyclohexenone, cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol to ε-caprolactone by whole cells of Geotrichum candidum CCT 1205

epsilon-Caprolactone (-CL) was obtained with excellent conversion and short reaction times from the substrates cyclohexenone, cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol using whole cells of Brazilian Geotrichum candidum (CCT 1205). The reactions were monitored over time by gas chromatography, and the intermediates of the one-pot cascade biotransformation involving reductions of C=C and C=O bonds as well as the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation were identified and quantified. The Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase (BVMO) enzyme was predominant, and all three substrates were completely converted into -CL. Furthermore, the whole cells of Geotrichum candidum were recycled and reutilized in the biotransformation of cyclohexanone, producing -CL at least six consecutive times without a significant loss of activity, reaction yields or product purity.