Improved biotransformation of lignin-valorized vanillin into vanillylamine in a sustainable bioreaction medium

Lignin is a critical biopolymer for creating a large number of highly valuable biobased compounds. Vanillin, one of lignin-derived aromatics, can be used to synthesize vanillylamine that is a key fine chemical and pharmaceutical intermediate. To produce vanillylamine, a productive whole-cell-catalyzed biotransformation of vanillin was developed in deep eutectic solvent surfactant H2O media. One newly created recombinant E. coli 30CA cells expressing & omega;-transaminase and L-alanine dehydrogenase was employed to transform 50 mM and 60 mM vanillin into vanillylamine in the yield of 82.2% and 8.5% under 40 degrees C, respectively. The biotransamination efficiency was enhanced by introducing surfactant PEG-2000 (40 mM) and deep eutectic solvent ChCl:LA (5.0 wt%, pH 8.0), and the highest vanillylamine yield reached 90.0% from 60 mM vanillin. Building an effective bioprocess was utilized for transamination of lignin-derived vanillin to vanillylamine with newly created bacteria in an eco-friendly medium, which had potential application for valorization of lignin to value-added compounds.

Automated summary

A biotransformation process was developed to convert vanillin into vanillylamine using whole-cell catalysis, achieving high yields and eco-friendliness. The use of surfactants and deep eutectic solvents further enhanced the conversion efficiency. This process has potential for valorization of lignin-derived compounds.