BioSulfa
Efficient Sulfation of Biomolecules - BioSulfa
The BioSulfa project aims to identify an economically interesting process for a chemo- and regioselective sulfation of industrially relevant products using tailor-made sulfotransferases. Current chemical sulfation processes comprise the production of dyes, pigments, antibiotics, therapeutics, hormones, pesticides, additives and detergents. Sulfated pharmaceuticals and therapeutics such as hyaluronic acid derivates, chondroitin sulfate and heparin own a global market of ~14 billion US dollars yearly.
In contrast to chemical sulfation, an enzymatic sulfation is selective and the reaction takes place at room temperature in water with neutral pH, almost quantitative yieldsand high catalytic efficiencies. Additionally, enzymatic sulfation allows a chemo- and regioselective transfer of sulfate groups to a multitude of substrate classes. The innovative concept of the BioSulfa project aims to develop a novel technology platform for a cost-efficient enzymatic sulfation of high value fine chemicals.