Direct biosynthesis of isobutyric acid. Credit: Zhang et al.Click to enlarge.

Isobutyric acid is a high-volume commodity chemical used in the production of fibers, resins, plastics, and dyestuffs, and is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food additives. Isobutyric acid also can be further converted to methacrylate (i.e., methacrylic acid - MAA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) which are commodity chemicals used in the production of plexiglass (polymethyl methacrylate plastics), adhesives, ion exchange resins, textile size, leather treatment chemicals, lubrication additives and crosslinking agents.

Making methacrylate via traditional chemical synthesis techniques usually begins with either natural gas or crude oil as the feedstock. The biological pathway uses renewable sugar feedstock instead of petroleum based feedstock.

The researchers have filed for a patent on the technology, and the University of Minnesota is seeking commercialization partners.

Resources

• Kechun Zhang, Adam P. Woodruff, Mingyong Xiong, Jun Zhou, Yogesh K. Dhande (2011) A Synthetic Metabolic Pathway for Production of the Platform Chemical Isobutyric Acid. ChemSusChem doi: 10.1002/cssc.201100045