Pyruvic Acid → N-Acetyl-Neuraminic Acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

In accomplishing these and other objects, there is provided a process for preparing N-acetylneuraminic acid, comprising the steps of (a) isomerizing N-acetylglucosamine in a reactor, in the presence of N-acylglucosamine-2-epimerase (E.C. 5.1.3.8), to give N-acetylmannosamine, and (b) reacting the N-acetylmannosamine with pyruvic acid in the presence of N-acetylneuraminic acid pyruvate lyase (E.C. 4.1.3.3) in the same reactor to give N-acetylneuraminic acid, wherein both the epimerase and the lyase are present in a reactor simultaneously, and steps (a) and (b) occur simultaneously.

Provenance & Evidence