Harnessing agro-industrial waste: Enzyme-driven biosynthesis in Itaconic acid production.

Itaconic acid (IA) is a highly soluble and stable bio-based chemical with diverse industrial applications, particularly in sustainable material production. Despite the growing demand for bio-based IA, efficient and sustainable production methods remain a challenge, particularly in optimizing fungal fermentation and by-product utilization. This study explores the synergistic use of solid-state fermentation utilizing Aspergillus awamori for enzyme production and hydrolysis, combined with submerged fermentation to optimize IA bioproduction from wheat bran by-products.