Continuous production of (S)-1-phenylethanol by immobilized cells of Rhodotorula glutinis with a specially designed process

A specially designed process for the continuous production of a chiral alcohol by immobilized Rhodotorula glutinis was prepared and is reported. The performance of the process with immobilized cells was also investigated. The run time of the immobilized cells, the flow rates of the substrate, and tris buffer containing 4% glucose in the process were optimized. The immobilized R. glutinis biocatalyst could be used for 15 days with maximum reaction activity. Under the optimized conditions, the continuous production process was operated for 30 days and resulted in 10.8 mL (S)-1-phenylethanol [(S)-1-PE]. The process has been demonstrated on a multigram scale in 75% overall yield with a purity of >99%.