What is it about?
This article describes the biochemical differences that exist between the baker's yeast strains commonly used by organic chemists for asymmetric synthesis. It shows that different strains produce different chemical yields. For example, a Japanese strain produces a chemical yield 9 times higher than a Brazilian strain. So, to repeat experiments done in other chemical synthesis laboratories, it is necessary to use the same yeast strain.
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Why is it important?
Bakery yeast has been used for years for the generation of chiral centers (asymmetric carbon). This is an inexpensive method used in organic synthesis. These chiral centers are used for the synthesis of asymmetric drugs and other useful molecules.
Perspectives
This article made it clear why many Brazilian scientists in the field of organic synthesis could not achieve the same chemical yield described in scientific articles by scientists from other countries. And vice versa.
Ricardo de Souza Pereira
Universidade Federal do Amapa
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Baker’s yeast some biochemical aspects and their influence in biotransformations, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, November 1995, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/bf02783553.
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