Enzymatic hydrolysis of β-lactam antibiotics at low pH in a two-phase "aqueous solution - water-immiscible organic solvent" system

The application of the two-phase "aqueous solution – water-immiscible organic solvent" system is suggested not for effective biocatalytic synthesis, but for hydrolytic purposes. Enzymatic hydrolysis of benzylpenicillin and N-phenylacetamidodesacetoxycephalosporanic acid to corresponding antibiotic nuclei 6-aminopenicillanic and 7-aminodesacetoxycephalosporanic acids in a two-phase water–butylacetate system at pH 3–4 is proposed as an alternative to the biocatalytic hydrolysis in an alkaline medium. An experimental study has been performed and a model has been developed, which describes the influence of pH, phase volume ratio, thermodynamic constants, and initial antibiotic concentration on the effectiveness of their hydrolysis in a two-phase "aqueous solution – water-immiscible organic solvent" system. The thermodynamic evaluation of penicillin G and 7-phenylacetamidodesacetoxycephalosporanic acid hydrolysis at low pH in a two-phase aqueous solution – water-immiscible organic solvent system has demonstrat...