Abstract
l-Ribose and l-arabinose were prepared biochemically from ribitol via a two-step reaction, by which the complete oxidation of ribitol to l-ribulose (∼98%) was achieved by the reaction of washed cells of Acetobacter aceti IFO 3281. The produced l-ribulose was then used as a substrate for the production of l-ribose and l-arabinose. The isomerization of l-ribulose to l-ribose and l-arabinose was carried out using l-ribose isomerase (l-RI) of Acinetobacter sp. strain DL-28 and l-arabinose isomerase (l-AI) of Mycobacterium smegmatis, respectively. At equilibrium, the ratio of l-ribose: l-ribulose was 70:30 and that of l-arabinose: l-ribulose was 90: 10. After a simple purification treatment, both pentoses could be crystallized without the use of column chromatography. The crystals were confirmed as l-ribose and l-arabinose by High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Infrared (IR), Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and optical rotation measurements.
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