Protein engineering of a bacterial N-acyl-d-glucosamine 2-epimerase for improved stability under process conditions.

Enzymatic cascade reactions, i.e. the combination of several enzyme reactions in one pot without isolation of intermediates, have great potential for the establishment of sustainable chemical processes.

High-level soluble expression of a bacterial N-acyl-d-glucosamine 2-epimerase in recombinant Escherichia coli.

N-Acyl-d-glucosamine 2-epimerase (AGE) is an important enzyme for the biocatalytic synthesis of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac). Due to the wide range of biological applications of Neu5Ac and its derivatives, there has been great interest in its large-scale synthesis. Thus, suitable strategies for achieving high-level production of soluble AGE are needed.