Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is emerging as a viable candidate for certain classes of power electronics, solar blind UV photodetectors, solar cells, and sensors with capabilities beyond existing technologies due to its large bandgap. It is usually reported that there are five different polymorphs of Ga2O3, namely, the monoclinic (β-Ga2O3), rhombohedral (α), defective spinel (γ), cubic (δ), or orthorhombic (e) structures. Of these, the β-polymorph is the stable form under normal conditions and has been the most widely studied and utilized. Since melt growth techniques can be used to grow bulk crystals of β-GaO3, the cost of producing larger area, uniform substrates is potentially lower compared to the vapor growth techniques used to manufacture bulk crystals of GaN and SiC. The performance of technologically important high voltage rectifiers and enhancement-mode Metal-Oxide Field Effect Transistors benefit from the larger critical electric field of β-Ga2O3 relative to either SiC or GaN. However, the absence of clear demonstrations of p-type doping in Ga2O3, which may be a fundamental issue resulting from the band structure, makes it very difficult to simultaneously achieve low turn-on voltages and ultra-high breakdown. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances in the growth, processing, and device performance of the most widely studied polymorph, β-Ga2O3. The role of defects and impurities on the transport and optical properties of bulk, epitaxial, and nanostructures material, the difficulty in p-type doping, and the development of processing techniques like etching, contact formation, dielectrics for gate formation, and passivation are discussed. Areas where continued development is needed to fully exploit the properties of Ga2O3 are identified.

A review of Ga2O3 materials, processing, and devices

Improvements in current strategies for carrier-based immobilisation have been developed using hetero-functionalised supports that enhance the binding efficacy and stability through multipoint attachment. New commercial resins (Sepabeads) exhibit improved protein binding capacity. Novel methods of enzyme self-immobilisation have been developed (CLEC, CLEA, Spherezyme), as well as carrier materials (Dendrispheres), encapsulation (PEI Microspheres), and entrapment. Apart from retention, recovery and stabilisation, other advantages to enzyme immobilisation have emerged, such as enhanced enzyme activity, modification of substrate selectivity and enantioselectivity, and multi-enzyme reactions. These advances promise to enhance the roles of immobilisation enzymes in industry, while opening the door for novel applications.

Advances in enzyme immobilisation

Biocatalysis for pharmaceutical intermediates: the future is now

Cross-Linked Enzyme Aggregates as Industrial Biocatalysts

http://research.chem.ucr.edu/groups/chang/cyclodextrin_BJ2005.pdf

Calculation of cyclodextrin binding affinities: energy, entropy, and implications for drug design.

Several new microorganisms have been isolated with high nitrilase activity against ( RS )-mandelonitrile using the enrichment culture technique. The organisms were cultivated in liquid culture and the enzyme activity was determined at different phases of growth. The organisms having high enzyme titre were further grown and used as catalysts for the transformation of mandelonitrile to mandelic acid. The percentage conversion was checked with RP-HPLC and the enantiomeric excess was determined on a chiral column. Three isolates gave the desired product, ( R )-(−)-mandelic acid with high ee (%) and were identified as Pseudomonas putida , Microbacterium paraoxydans and Microbacterium liquefaciens . All three isolates showed good specific activity (0.33–0.50 U/mg min) with high ee (>93%) and E values. The conversion of racemic mandelonitrile to mandelic acid by these isolates was compared: P. putida was found to be the most suitable biocatalyst for further studies as it showed higher reaction rate ( k Rxn ), lower K m , better growth rate ( μ ), good yield and ee values and higher stability compared to the other two microorganisms.

Screening for enantioselective nitrilases : Kinetic resolution of racemic mandelonitrile to (R)-(-)-mandelic acid by new bacterial isolates

The highly enantioselective arylacetonitrilase of Pseudomonas putida was purified to homogeneity using a combination of (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and different chromatographic techniques. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 412 kDa and consisted of approximately nine to ten identical subunits (43 kDa). The purified enzyme exhibited a pH optimum of 7.0 and temperature optimum of 40°C. The nitrilase was highly susceptible to thiol-specific reagents and metal ions and also required a reducing environment for its activity. These reflected the presence of a catalytically essential thiol group for enzyme activity which is in accordance with the proposed mechanism for nitrilase-catalyzed reaction. The enzyme was highly specific for arylacetonitriles with phenylacetonitrile and its derivatives being the most preferred substrates. Higher specificity constant (kcat/Km) values for phenylacetonitrile compared to mandelonitrile also revealed the same. Faster reaction rate achieved with this nitrilase for mandelonitrile hydrolysis was possibly due to the low activation energy required by the protein. Incorporation of low concentration (<5%) of organic solvent increased the enzyme activity by increasing the availability of the substrate. Higher stability of the enzyme at slightly alkaline pH and ambient temperature provides an excellent opportunity to establish a dynamic kinetic resolution process for the production of (R)-(−)-mandelic acid from readily available mandelonitrile.

Purification and characterization of an enantioselective arylacetonitrilase from Pseudomonas putida

Based on the color change of an indicator due to the release of hydrogen ion from a nitrilase-catalyzed reaction, a rapid colorimetric method was established for the enantioselective screening of nitrilase-producing microorganisms. The formation of acids due to the nitrilase-mediated hydrolysis of nitriles causes a drop in the pH, which in turn results in a change of color of the solution (containing indicator) that can be observed visually. The buffer (0.01 M phosphate, pH 7.2) and indicator (Bromothymol blue, 0.01%) were selected in such a way that both have the same affinity for the released protons. The enantioselectivity of nitrilases was estimated by comparing the hydrolysis of (R)-mandelonitrile with that of racemate under the same conditions. The method was used to screen a library of nitrilase-producing microorganisms, isolated in the authors' laboratory for their ability to enantioselectively hydrolyze mandelonitrile to mandelic acid, an important chiral building block.

A High-Throughput Amenable Colorimetric Assay for Enantioselective Screening of Nitrilase-Producing Microorganisms Using pH Sensitive Indicators

Stereoselective nitrile hydrolysis by immobilized whole-cell biocatalyst.

(R)-mandelic acid was produced from racemic mandelonitrile using free and immobilized cells of Pseudomonas putida MTCC 5110 harbouring a stereoselective nitrilase. In addition to the optimization of culture conditions and medium components, an inducer feeding approach is suggested to achieve enhanced enzyme production and therefore higher degree of conversion of mandelonitrile. The relationship between cell growth periodicity and enzyme accumulation was also studied, and the addition of the inducer was delayed by 6 h to achieve maximum nitrilase activity. The nitrilase expression was also authenticated by the sodium dodecyl phosphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. P. putida MTCC 5110 cells were further immobilized in calcium alginate, and the immobilized biocatalyst preparation was used for the enantioselective hydrolysis of mandelonitrile. The immobilized system was characterized based on the Thiele modulus (ϕ). Efficient biocatalyst recycling was achieved as a result of immobilization with immobilized cells exhibiting 88% conversion even after 20 batch recycles. Finally, a fed batch reaction was set up on a preparative scale to produce 1.95 g of (R)-(-)-mandelic acid with an enantiomeric excess of 98.8%.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs00253-017-8413-3.pdf

Praveen Kaul

Papers

Screening for enantioselective nitrilases : Kinetic resolution of racemic mandelonitrile to (R)-(-)-mandelic acid by new bacterial isolates

Purification and characterization of an enantioselective arylacetonitrilase from Pseudomonas putida

A High-Throughput Amenable Colorimetric Assay for Enantioselective Screening of Nitrilase-Producing Microorganisms Using pH Sensitive Indicators

Stereoselective nitrile hydrolysis by immobilized whole-cell biocatalyst.

Enhancing the catalytic potential of nitrilase from Pseudomonas putida for stereoselective nitrile hydrolysis