Response surface methodology as optimization strategy for asymmetric bioreduction of acetophenone using whole cell of Lactobacillus senmaizukei

Whole cell applications are one of the main methodologies for the bioreduction of prochiral ketones to obtain enantiomerically rich chiral secondary alcohols which are mainly affected by the culture parameters of the whole cell. In this study, whole cell of Lactobacillus senmaizukei as a safe Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) was used for the reduction of acetophenone and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) application was used to optimize the culture parameters in terms of temperature, pH, incubation time, and agitation level to obtain the highest enantiomeric excess (ee) and conversion rate. The predicted optimum conditions for the bioreduction with whole cell Lactobacillus senmaizukei were found to be pH of 5.25, temperature of 25 °C, incubation time of 72 hr, and agitation level of 100 rpm. Importantly, the efficiency of the reduction of the acetophenone was significantly affected by the linear and quadratic effects of culture parameters. These findings are important to show the role of culture parameters for the bioreduction reactions and also the efficiency of the RSM technique to optimize these parameters.