Reduction of N-terminal methionylation while increasing titer by lowering metabolic and protein production rates in E. coli auto-induced fed-batch fermentation.

A standard fed-batch fermentation process using 1 mM isopropyl-β-D: -thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) induction at 37 °C in complex batch and feed media had been developed for manufacturing of a therapeutic protein (TP) expressed in inclusion bodies (IBs) by E. coli BL21 (DE3) driven by T7 promoter. Six unauthentic TP N-terminal variants were identified, of which methionylated TP (Met-TP) ratio was predominant.

Crystallization-induced chiral inversion as the key step for synthesis of (S)-2-acetylthio-3-phenylpropanoic acid from l-phenylalanine.

[reaction: see text] A novel crystallization-induced chiral inversion of (S)-2-bromo-3-phenylpropanoic acid to its (R)-enantiomer with excellent enantiomeric excess (96-99%) is achieved. Optically pure (S)-2-acetylthio-3-phenylpropanoic acid can be prepared in good yield from inexpensive and commercially available l-phenylalanine via diazotization/bromination, chiral inversion, and thioacetate substitution reactions.