Development of sustainable biocatalytic furfurylamine production in a magnetic field-assisted microfluidic reactor

Božinović, Marko (author), Jereb, Marjan (author), Šketa, Borut (author), Gaber, Aljaž (author), Seručnik, Mojca (author), Košmrlj, Janez (author), Žnidaršič Plazl, Polona (author)

The increasing demand for furfurylamine (FA), a versatile biobased building block, necessitates the development of efficient and sustainable production processes. This study presents a continuous biocatalytic process for the amination of furfural (FUR) to FA, aligning with green chemistry principles and circular economy strategies. A systematic screening of ω-transaminases (ω-TAs) and amine donors identified N-His$_6$-ATA-wt and (S)-(−)-α-methylbenzylamine as the optimal pair, achieving a 96% FA gross yield within 30 min at equimolar substrate concentrations, surpassing previously reported ω-TA-based FA productions. To enable biocatalyst long-term use in continuous processes, the enzyme was covalently immobilized on synthesized and functionalized magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) using glutaraldehyde (GA) as a cross-linker. At optimized immobilization conditions, 92.8% recovered activity was achieved with 80 mg enzyme/g dry MNPs and 2% (v/v) GA in a batch process. The immobilized biocatalyst was integrated into a custom 3D-printed magnetic field-assisted microreactor and evaluated in continuous-flow operation for 18 days. The system reached a maximum space-time yield of 1.07 g/(L h) and a total turnover number of 2.04 × 10$^7$. These results, along with favorable green chemistry metrics, highlight the potential of this integrated approach─combining enzyme engineering, nanomaterials, and flow technology─for scalable and sustainable FA production.

• Language: English
• Keywords: biocatalysis, microreactor, furfurylamine, biomass valorization, furfural, ω-transaminase, magnetite nanoparticles, enzyme immobilization, green chemistry, amines, nanoparticles, peptides, proteins, phosphates
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 15887-15896
• Numbering: Vol. 13, iss. 38
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-173339
• UDC: 66.023.2.098:547.7
• ISSN on article: 2168-0485
• DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c04752
• COBISS.SI-ID: 249049091
• Publication date in RUL: 16.09.2025
• Collection: This document is a collection and includes 1 document.

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering
• Shortened title: ACS sustain. chem. & eng.
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• ISSN: 2168-0485
• COBISS.SI-ID: 519846169

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: biokataliza, mikroreaktor, furfurilamin, valorizacija biomase